Los Angeles (March 14, 2013) – Beverly Hills is home to many high-end restaurants. Typical of such establishments, Urasawa on Rodeo Drive is known as one of the most expensive restaurants in the country. You can enjoy dinner there if you are willing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars per person for the meal.
Heriberto Zamora worked at Urasawa for seven years. He frequently worked shifts of 11-13 hours, but was never paid any overtime wages and was never permitted to take meal and rest breaks as required by law. One day last spring, some 9 hours into his long work shift, he asked to go home “early” because he was suffering from the flu and had been running a high fever for four straight days. The owner fired him on the spot for asking to go home.
On Wednesday, March 13, 2013, the California Labor Commissioner announced that an investigation of the restaurant resulted in tens of thousands of dollars in fines for labor violations. Heriberto’s case for his unpaid wages is still pending.
Today, Heriberto and Bet Tzedek’s Employment Rights Director, attorney Kevin Kish, spoke at a press conference and rally in front of the restaurant. They were joined by many allies from KIWA, APALC, CHIRLA, the CLEAN Carwash Campaign, the Bus Riders Union, Thai Community Development Center, and the UCLA Labor Center.
Read more on this story at https://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-urasawa-labor-violations-20130314,0,6329451.story
