News

San Francisco restaurant workers get $4M in back pay

Workers at Yank Sing restaurant were granted back pay for minimum wage, meal, rest period and other labor code violations.

November 20, 2014

California Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su has assisted in brokering a $4 million settlement on behalf of 280 workers at Michelin-rated dim sum restaurant Yank Sing in San Francisco. The money represents back pay for minimum wage, meal, rest period, and other labor code violations, and is being distributed to employees of the restaurant's two San Francisco locations today.

The Labor Commissioner investigated the violations in partnership with the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA), the Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus as well as the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement. The investigation began after a number of immigrant Yank Sing workers approached the CPA with complaints in 2013.

Investigators found the following violations at Yank Sing:

Employees were paid the state minimum wage of $8 per hour, not San Francisco's higher minimum wage.

Management kept or misdirected to ineligible employees approximately $1 million in tips intended for workers over a four-year period.

Employees were not paid for all hours worked.

"This settlement is a win for the workers as well as for the employer who sought a resolution to come into compliance with the state's labor laws," said Christine Baker, director of the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), in a press relesae. The Labor Commissioner's Office, also known as the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), is a division within DIR.

Of the $4 million being distributed, approximately $1.4 million is for minimum wage violations, $1.4 million is for overtime pay violations, and $1 million is restitution for withheld gratuities. The balance of the $4 million settlement is allocated primarily to compensation for meal and rest period violations.

"As Labor Commissioner, I know that government cannot do it alone. This outcome was the result of a concerted effort with community-based organizations that have the workers' trust," said Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su.  "Yank Sing's response to our investigation and our ability to resolve this matter without litigation is something we'd like to encourage employers faced with similar violations to emulate."

As a result of the settlement, Yank Sing workers now have base wage increases, holiday and vacation pay, and fully paid health care for full-time employees.