Restaurant hires fake priest to extract confessions from workers.
After allegedly hiring a fake priest to extract confessions of workers’ ‘sins’, a California restaurant must pay workers $140,000.
A California restaurant has received a court order to pay $140,000 in back wages and damages to its employees. Additionally, federal investigators have deemed the restaurant’s act of hiring a fake priest to extract confessions from workers a shameful act of corruption.
The owner, Che Garibaldi, purposefully hired the fake priest to extract confessions during work hours. The restaurant interrogated employees about their lateness, theft, and intentions towards the employer. An employee provided testimony to the US Department of Labor regarding the restaurant’s actions. Furthermore, several employees reported that a manager falsely raised concerns about potential immigration issues resulting from the investigation.
Despite these claims, the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento confirmed the lack of evidence connecting the fake priest to their diocese. In fact, a diocese spokesman expressed complete confidence that the person in question had no affiliation with the Diocese of Sacramento. As a result, Garibaldi and three other restaurant owners became legally obligated to pay $140,000 in back wages and damages to a total of 35 employees. Moreover, authorities mandated the restaurant itself to pay an additional $5,000 in civil penalties.
Unfortunately, Taqueria Garibaldi did not respond to a request for comment. During the investigation, authorities uncovered further distressing findings. They revealed that the restaurant had denied employees overtime pay, while managers received bonuses sourced from the employee tip pool. Shockingly, some employees faced adverse immigration consequences due to their cooperation with the investigators.
We must unequivocally condemn such abhorrent behavior on the part of the employer. The employer intended to silence workers, obstruct the investigation, and impede the recovery of unpaid wages. Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin rightfully denounced these reprehensible attempts at retaliation as despicable.
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