Wait and Kitchen Staff at Thai Restaurant Allege Serious Wage and Hour Violations

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, December 19, 2003 -- Two former employees at the popular Cha Am Thai Restaurant in San Francisco filed suit against their employer today in San Francisco Superior Court. The employees allege that they were never paid minimum wage or overtime as required by California law.

"Cha Am continues to exploit its immigrant workforce despite legal warnings and investigations," states attorney Dave Pogrel of the Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center, the organization representing the workers. "The owners seem to have decided that the need to comply with the law is outweighed by the cost savings of illegally abusing their employees."

Rewat Charoentan, 55, a resident of Alameda County, worked as a server at the restaurant's 701 Folsom Street location for nearly two years. During that time, he was never paid the minimum hourly rate required by law. In addition, although Mr. Charoentan regularly worked up to 10 hours per day, he was not paid overtime, nor was he granted meal and rest periods as required by law.

Mala Songphon, 52, Mr. Charoentan's wife, also worked at Cha Am, as a sous-chef. As a member of the kitchen staff, Ms. Songphon worked 11 hours a day. Like her husband, she did not receive required rest and meal breaks, and was never paid overtime during her years of employment. For many months, Ms. Songphon was not paid the minimum wage.

"My wife and I worked very hard for Cha Am and we are very proud of the work we did," says Charoentan. "It's unfair for the restaurant to make more profit by not paying us according to the law."

In 2002, the federal Department of Labor investigated Cha Am's wage and hour practices and found numerous violations. Investigators ordered the restaurant to pay its workers by the hour, and to install a time clock. Shortly after the DOL's investigation concluded, Cha Am removed the time clock and returned to its prior illegal practice of paying employees by shift at a level below minimum wage.

Cha Am employees were never issued pay stubs listing the number of hours worked, rate of pay, or tax deductions, as the law requires.

Both Mr. Charoentan and Ms. Songphon were terminated from Cha Am in 2002. The complaint filed today requests injunctive relief, monetary damages and penalties for Cha Am's failure to pay minimum wage and overtime, failure to provide meal and rest periods; and other violations. In addition, the suit seeks reimbursement for other workers who were similarly denied minimum wage, overtime, and other basic legal protections.

"These violations are among the worst we've seen in our 20 years of work in this area," says Pat Shiu, Vice President of Programs at the LAS-ELC. "It's ironic that Cha Am publicizes itself as a 'high-end' restaurant while it illegally exploits its low-wage workers. We anticipate that success with this case will make other prominent restaurants recognize their legal responsibilities."

To read about the successful settlement of this case and the permanent workplace improvements that resulted, read the LAS-ELC's 2004 Fall/Winter newsletter, society (PDF).

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