Three Taqueria Garibaldi locations in California cheated employees out of money and even used a fake priest of spy on them, the Labor Department said. (Screenshot: KTXL)
The U.S. Department of Labor announced on Monday that a restaurant company committed an array of work violations against their employees, including getting a fake priest to fish for confessions of workplace “sins” by staff.
“Federal wage and hour investigators have seen corrupt employers try all kinds of scams to shortchange workers and to intimidate or retaliate against employees but a northern California restaurant’s attempt to use an alleged priest to get employees to admit workplace ‘sins’ may be among the most shameless,” they wrote.
This concerns Che Garibaldi Inc, which runs Taqueria Garibaldi two locations in Sacramento, California, and one in the city of Roseville, authorities said. It agreed to a consent judgment in May, the government said. They and owners and operators Eduardo Hernandez, Hector Manual Martinez Galindo, and Alejandro Rodriguez were ordered to pay $140,000 in back wages and damages to 35 employees. They must also pay $5,000 in civil money penalties.
