California Taqueria Used ‘Priest’ to Intimidate Workers, Labor Department Says

In November 2021, the owner of a Taqueria in Northern California became the subject of a federal wage theft investigation after he brought in strange customers to talk to his employees.

Eduardo Hernandez told employees at Taqueria Garibaldi in Sacramento that the man, who identified himself as a priest, had come to hear confession and “help with mental health,” according to a description provided by an employee to federal regulators. He said that he was

But employee Maria Parra felt that the interaction with the man was more like an interrogation than a confession. She said Ms Parra said she was going to ask questions “to take the guilt out of me.” But when the interrogation began, she said the man was “asking mostly work-related questions.”

“The priest asked me if I had stolen something at work, if I was late for work, if I had done anything to harm my employer, if there was any malice in my employment. I asked,” Parra said in an affidavit.

Labor Department investigator Raquel Alfaro told her that “several employees” participated in the man’s confession, adding, “It felt strange because the priest was questioning his employer and his loyalty to the company.” I testified.

Labor Department officials said this week they believed the aim was to intimidate workers and possibly extract information about their interactions with investigators.

A federal judge last month ordered Mr. Hernandez and another owner of Taqueria Garibaldi, which has three stores in the Sacramento area, to pay $140,000 in outstanding payments and damages to 35 employees.

In a statement announcing the enforcement Monday, the Labor Department said the restaurant did not pay hourly workers overtime and illegally paid pooled tips to managers.

Hernandez and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

As for the man who was confessed by an employee of Taqueria Garibaldi, it was not clear whether he was a real priest. Federal investigators were unable to identify him, saying restaurant workers only knew him as a friend of Hernandez.

Sacramento Diocese spokesman Brian Visitacion said he did not know who the man was. “The person in question is not a priest from the Diocese of Sacramento,” he said in an email.

In affidavits, the workers described hostile working conditions at Taqueria Garibaldi, saying they were forced to work long hours without pay, were often denied breaks and were fired without notice. .

“I saw a colleague hide in a walk-in fridge to eat,” an employee whose name was redacted in court documents told investigators, while the manager said, “We sat down. They didn’t let me eat,” he added, “and it would put pressure on me to get up and do my job.”

The worker said he worked 50 to 60 hours a week but was paid only 40 hours.

The Labor Department found Mr. Hernandez. Hector Manual Martinez Galindo, who owned the restaurant with him. Manager Alejandro Rodriguez told staff to lie to investigators that they were not working overtime. The defendants also took other measures to thwart the investigation, including destroying payroll records and threatening to deport some workers if they consulted federal regulators, the department said.

According to court documents, workers will receive up to $14,826 in unpaid wages and damages under court orders for unpaid wages from 2018 to 2021.