After weeks of failing to pay unpaid wages to their former workers, the owners of the now-shuttered Otium distributed checks over the weekend. But several workers say their last paycheck was missing hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of dollars.
María Ramos Hernández, a dishwasher at Otium, said the restaurant still owes her at least $2,000.
“This is unfair. “I worked for them for seven years, washing dishes,” he said in Spanish. “They didn't pay me for my vacation. “I didn’t get paid the last day I worked.”
She wasn't the only one. Two other workers also said their checks were short and did not include late fees associated with the delay. Otium distributed the checks days after workers picketed outside the empty restaurant, demanding they be paid after weeks of going without their final checks.
About a month before Otium closed on September 8, the once-acclaimed restaurant announced on Instagram that it would be closing for good after nine years in business, stating that financial difficulties had led to the decision.
In 2015, Otium opened to much fanfare in a spacious building in the Broad Museum complex run by celebrity chef Timothy Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth, who was Thomas Keller's chef de cuisine at French Laundry, co-owned the restaurant with Carl Schuster, founding partner of Wolfgang Puck catering and CEO and founder of Cast Iron Partners. The restaurant opened with partners including philanthropist Eli Broad and restaurant entrepreneur Bill Chait, owner of Hollingsworth's former barbecue restaurant, Barrel & Ashes.
On Friday afternoon, Otium announced on Instagram that it would begin paying workers over the weekend and told workers that final checks were available for pickup at the restaurant.
Melissa Cristina Mendoza, a waitress for eight years at Otium, said Schuster was at the restaurant distributing checks when she realized she was $600 short on her final payment. “I'm short of money,” he said he told her.
She said Schuster told her to talk to the general manager, who referred her to human resources. She has not received a response, Mendoza said.
In a prepared statement, Hollingsworth referred questions to Schuster, who is in charge of payroll.
In an email to The Times, Schuster said only “two employees mentioned that they thought there was a discrepancy…I contacted payroll this morning.”
Schuster said they have yet to calculate fines for the wait time and will distribute those checks at a later date, but could not say when. “We wanted to get them paid as soon as possible,” he said.
Schuster said he apologized if he “missed some things.” He said he had no intention of letting workers down and was working to rectify the problem.
Payments for the weekend were made by bank checks from East West Bank. On Monday morning, Hernandez took a bus to one of the bank's downtown branches, but he said the teller refused to cash his $1,723.12 check.
“They tell me that they cannot verify that there are funds,” he said in Spanish. “They are telling me to come back. What is happening? I really need this money. I am entitled to this money. I already worked for this money. And they owe me more money.”
