On April 16, 2014, HSRR filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of employees of the Daily Grill restaurant who were unfairly shorted thousands of dollars over the past three years. The main plaintiffs are two servers and a busser whose loss from the wage violations comes to nearly $1000 per year per person.
Read the press release in full here:
Restaurant Employees File Suit Alleging Minimum Wage Violations
Servers, bussers say company has shorted them thousands in wages over past three years
LOS ANGELES – Restaurant workers filed a class action lawsuit in LA Superior Court on Wednesday alleging their employer has shorted them thousands of dollars in pay over the past three years.
The plaintiffs – two servers and a busser – at the Daily Grill restaurant located at the Westin LAX Hotel allege that management has underpaid them by approximately $.40-$.70 per hour at various times. For the typical server who works less than 30 hours per week, the employer is allegedly shorting her as much as $1,000 annually.
“Last year, my general manager boasted that our restaurant is the second most successful in the whole chain,” said Madecadel Goytia, a long-time server at the Daily Grill. “It is insulting to find out your boss is not paying you everything you deserve. As this company gets better, our situation gets worse.”
The Daily Grill is owned by Woodland Hills-based Grill Concepts, Inc. Because of its location near the Los Angeles International Airport, the Daily Grill is subject to a 2007 law requiring hospitality businesses operating in the LAX Corridor to pay a “living wage” to all employees. Current wage for employees like the plaintiffs who do not receive health care benefits is $12.16 per hour. But plaintiffs say they’re currently only earning $11.59 per hour – a loss of $.57 for each hour worked.
“My clients are taking a stand against companies, like the Daily Grill, who reap large profits from the City’s investment in LAX but have for years ignored their most basic obligation to pay its employees the hotel minimum wage,” said Randy Renick, the plaintiffs’ attorney.
The lawsuit comes as the Los Angeles City Council considers expanding the LAX Corridor law citywide, to cover all workers in large hotels, and boost the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
“In 2006 and 2007, I worked hard to help pass the Century Boulevard minimum wage law,” said Sandra Diaz, a restaurant busser who has worked in hospitality near LAX since 2003. “I talked to City Council members and protested in the streets. I deserve the benefits of this law just like all other workers around LAX.”
Across the country, fast food and retail workers have decried allegations of pay violations. Such nickel-and-diming can add up to major savings for corporations. Oakland Raider cheerleaders filed a class-action suit in January also alleging the underpaying of wages, among other wage violations.