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jcd
Joined: 13 Mar 2012
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 Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 1:43 am Post subject: Judge Tells Korean-Restaurant Owner in Queens to Pay $2.7 Mi |
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"The vegetable picking was the worst job Mr. Morales endured. When Mr. Yu asked him to show up at 8 a.m. on his day off, to be bused to a vegetable farm in New Jersey, Mr. Morales said Mr. Yu said: “Don’t ask why. You’re just here early, you’re going to work.”
Thought id share a sweet story of justice, was for me since I know a couple of these guys cultural twins. To many to be a coincidence.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/24/nyregion/judge-tells-korean-restaurant-owner-in-queens-to-pay-back-wages.html?_r=0 |
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Sector7G
Joined: 24 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 5:02 am Post subject: |
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For eleven restaurant workers, $2.7 million seems like a high amount for back wages only - I was thinking there had to be some additional damages awarded as well, but the article does not really make that clear. Nor does it say how far back it goes.
$2.7M split eleven ways is $245k, and even if we go back seven years from the time of the lawsuit in 2012 to the time the restaurant first came under scrutiny in 2005, that's $35k a year that each of the eleven was shorted. Again, seems like a lot for a restaurant worker, even in NYC.
Anyway, it's doubtful they will see any of it. The article says he still has not paid a dime of the $2 million he was ordered to pay in a separate lawsuit back in 2010. |
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Plain Meaning
Joined: 18 Oct 2014
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| Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 7:26 am Post subject: |
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| a federal magistrate judge ruled that Kum Gang San, the owner, Ji Sung Yoo, and two restaurant managers owed the 11 employees who had filed a lawsuit claiming wage theft $2.67 million |
There may be additional damages beyond back pay. In fact, I am fairly confident the award includes attorney's fees.
It is very doubtful that such an award will be collected in full. We should be skeptical of Mr. Yoo's plea of poverty, but its doubtful he has $2.67 million lying around, or that his insurance coverage might even approach that figure.
Those employees will probably not receive their full back pay. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 9:29 am Post subject: |
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| I'm pretty sure I know this guy's son... |
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Smithington
Joined: 14 Dec 2011
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| Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 6:43 pm Post subject: |
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America is not Korea. Here a labor court can give a fine or make a ruling and it's just ignored. Things don't work that way in the West. If he doesn't pay, the money or property will be seized. He's in for a nasty shock if he thinks he can just ignore the ruling.
(On another note, Korean food is making the headlines again for all the wrong reasons.) |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Smithington wrote: |
America is not Korea. Here a labor court can give a fine or make a ruling and it's just ignored. Things don't work that way in the West. If he doesn't pay, the money or property will be seized. He's in for a nasty shock if he thinks he can just ignore the ruling.
(On another note, Korean food is making the headlines again for all the wrong reasons.) |
What, you think that right after a ruling is reached, the defendants whip out a checkbook and pay the plaintiff You aren't that familiar with American torts are you? You do realize that extracting tort money is like pulling teeth, right? Because I never see some celebrity/athlete chilling at their mansion with a story with the phrase "currently owes over 1.2 million in back alimony and child support". Get a clue about real life back home and stop believing some sort of Horatio Alger fantasy about how things are.
And yes, the government in Korea does seize money and do things as well, but just like back home there are appeals processes and legal loopholes that make getting money from settlements a chore.
Also, Korean food makes the NYTimes far more often for the latest Korean restaurant that opens up or Korean food product. And this story didn't exactly make the headlines, more like was an item in its regional section. Sorry, but for Korean Food headlines in the US its a bunch of foodie crap about Korean BBQ places, Korean fusion taco trucks, kimchi and gochujang (believe it or not), and Anthony Bourdain's Koreatown travels.
If you want a perfect example about how utterly wrong you are, simply google "Korean Food" in the news search function and look at the headlines outside of Korea (which seems to be focused on the 'C' grade it got from tourists) Heck, just google 'gochujang' in the news search function and look at the results.
Sorry that reality doesn't match with your perspective. |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 1:25 am Post subject: |
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| Sounds like the guy was a real SOB, as were his wife, his managers, more than likely his son. Hopefully, they'll get around to seizing whatever assets he has and putting him out of business. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 5:46 am Post subject: |
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| Smithington wrote: |
| (On another note, Korean food is making the headlines again for all the wrong reasons.) |
Did you say the same about American food when Bobby Flay got hit with the same charge ([url]100304/manhattan/iron-chef-bobby-flay-fork-over-800k-restaurant-workers[/url])? Or Italian food with Mario Batali (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2549595/Fork-Celebrity-chef-Mario-Bataliu.html)? |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 12:01 am Post subject: |
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Well, this is a board about Korea. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Thu Mar 26, 2015 3:35 am Post subject: |
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| atwood wrote: |
Well, this is a board about Korea. |
Sure, but that doesn't make the logic any more sound. This hardly constitutes "making the headlines", and even if it did, it's not as if the issue is isolated to Korean restaurants. |
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DaeguNL
Joined: 08 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:05 am Post subject: |
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I was eating at a Korean restaurant in Toronto a couple years back. A young Korean was having an interview at the next table. The owner offered him a job for 5.00 an hour, and he wasn't allowed to keep his tips. Minimum wage was 10.25 so he said he expected to be paid min wage. The owner burst out laughing, saying something along the lines of " That's not the way it works in Korean restaurants"
getting paid less than half your wages would definitely add up after a while. It sucks that people who may not have a great command of English are forced to work in illegal conditions or not work at all |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:22 am Post subject: |
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| DaeguNL wrote: |
I was eating at a Korean restaurant in Toronto a couple years back. A young Korean was having an interview at the next table. The owner offered him a job for 5.00 an hour, and he wasn't allowed to keep his tips. Minimum wage was 10.25 so he said he expected to be paid min wage. The owner burst out laughing, saying something along the lines of " That's not the way it works in Korean restaurants"
getting paid less than half your wages would definitely add up after a while. It sucks that people who may not have a great command of English are forced to work in illegal conditions or not work at all |
That's really interesting. The Korean restaurants and bars in Atlanta pay undocumented Koreans market wages (in cash) in addition to allowing them to keep their tips, so they actually do really well. It's pretty common to see them driving German imports and they generally live in nice houses. Where I think they save their money is by underpaying the Mexican and Central American illegals who work in the back. |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 4:54 am Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| DaeguNL wrote: |
I was eating at a Korean restaurant in Toronto a couple years back. A young Korean was having an interview at the next table. The owner offered him a job for 5.00 an hour, and he wasn't allowed to keep his tips. Minimum wage was 10.25 so he said he expected to be paid min wage. The owner burst out laughing, saying something along the lines of " That's not the way it works in Korean restaurants"
getting paid less than half your wages would definitely add up after a while. It sucks that people who may not have a great command of English are forced to work in illegal conditions or not work at all |
That's really interesting. The Korean restaurants and bars in Atlanta pay undocumented Koreans market wages (in cash) in addition to allowing them to keep their tips, so they actually do really well. It's pretty common to see them driving German imports and they generally live in nice houses. Where I think they save their money is by underpaying the Mexican and Central American illegals who work in the back. |
Nicely played. |
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Who's Your Daddy?
Joined: 30 May 2010
Location: Victoria, Canada.
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| Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 9:21 am Post subject: |
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| DaeguNL wrote: |
I was eating at a Korean restaurant in Toronto a couple years back. A young Korean was having an interview at the next table. The owner offered him a job for 5.00 an hour, and he wasn't allowed to keep his tips. Minimum wage was 10.25 so he said he expected to be paid min wage. The owner burst out laughing, saying something along the lines of " That's not the way it works in Korean restaurants"
getting paid less than half your wages would definitely add up after a while. It sucks that people who may not have a great command of English are forced to work in illegal conditions or not work at all |
Well at least my province, BC, has all the labor laws translated into multiple languages including Korean. I expect it is similar in Ontario, and one just needs to do an internet search.
http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/multi/korean.php |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 10:57 am Post subject: |
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| Who's Your Daddy? wrote: |
| DaeguNL wrote: |
I was eating at a Korean restaurant in Toronto a couple years back. A young Korean was having an interview at the next table. The owner offered him a job for 5.00 an hour, and he wasn't allowed to keep his tips. Minimum wage was 10.25 so he said he expected to be paid min wage. The owner burst out laughing, saying something along the lines of " That's not the way it works in Korean restaurants"
getting paid less than half your wages would definitely add up after a while. It sucks that people who may not have a great command of English are forced to work in illegal conditions or not work at all |
Well at least my province, BC, has all the labor laws translated into multiple languages including Korean. I expect it is similar in Ontario, and one just needs to do an internet search.
http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/multi/korean.php |
Knowing the law and being able to do anything about the law being broken are two very different things. If you can't speak English and you get fired or leave because of poor working conditions, where are you going to work? Particularly if you don't have papers? Your options are exceedingly limited, even if you do know what your rights are. |
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