By Parveen Chopra, IANS
New York : Workers’ lawsuit against the owner of Devi – the only Indian restaurant with a single Michelin star in the US – for labour malpractices will continue irrespective of shutting down of the popular eating joint in New York.
In fact, the 15 erstwhile waiters, runners and bussers of Devi allege that the owner, Rakesh Aggarwal, shut down the restaurant early last week in retaliation to their lawsuit filed in April. However, he has been quoted as saying that he closed shop to cut losses.
“No comments,” is all Aggarwal had to say when approached.
To protest Devi’s closing, its jobless workers – eight of whom are South Asians – held a demonstration outside the restaurant on Manhattan’s 18th Street.
“They plan more demonstrations outside Aggarwal’s Baluchi’s chain of restaurants,” the workers’ counsel Tushar J. Sheth told IANS. He is a staff attorney with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, that protects and promotes the civil rights of Asian Americans through litigation, advocacy and education.
Sheth said the case relates to Devi’s minimum wage and overtime violations and illegal tip confiscation. The plaintiffs seek to recover unpaid wages and tips as well as punitive damages.
The case is in the federal court of southern district of New York. “At this stage, we are providing evidence, and the owner has to defend. If not settled before December, the case will go to trial,” Sheth said.
Sheth said labour malpractices are not confined to Indian restaurants “but are endemic to all restaurants, Chinese, Korean, French, you name it”.
Devi, started in 2004, will be missed by its many patrons. One major fan was Frank Bruni, the chief food critic for The New York Times, who posted ‘Devi: An Elegy’ on his blog.
Devi’s innovative menu was crafted by chefs Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur.