Once a wage-theft victim, restaurateur now accused of cheating his own workers, feds say

A restaurant owner in Oregon who was once a victim of wage theft has been accused of cheating his employees out of tips and overtime, according to the Department of Labor. But the restaurateur says the allegations are false and called the Department of Labor’s investigation unfair.

Miguel Chi-Dzul, owner and operator of Casa Maya, a taqueria and cantina in Portland, is accused of altering pay records, denying overtime to employees and keeping some workers’ tips for himself, according to a news release from the Department of Labor.

During an investigation, the department’s Wage and Hour Division found Chi-Dzul “denied 31 workers a total of $94,177 in tips and back wages,” the release says.

The agency recovered $188,354 in back wages and damages for the workers and assessed $11,292 in civil penalties because of the “willful nature” of the accused violations, the release says.

“Restaurant workers are often among the lowest wage earners in our nation, and they depend on every dollar they earn for hours worked and on tips received for good service to their customers,” Carrie Aguilar, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division director said in a statement. “This intensifies the economic impact of Chi-Dzul’s theft on his employees, each of whom has a legal right to be paid all of their hard-earned wages.”

Chi-Dzul said in an email to McClatchy News he disagrees with the department’s findings.

“Throughout the investigation, it felt like the (Department of Labor) had prejudged me, was out to get me, and was doing all it could to bully me into settlement,” Chi-Dzul wrote. “They refused to share the basis of their findings with me or my attorney so that we could effectively address them and have a meaningful dialogue with the (Department of Labor) about the charges. They even threatened me with more charges if I tried to contact my employees to be my witnesses.”

Chi-Dzul said he agreed to a settlement because he did not have the financial resources to take his case to a trial. He said his decision to settle was about saving his business and “in no way an admission of wrongdoing.”

According to the Department of Labor, investigators found Chi-Dzul denied overtime to some employees who worked up to 25 hours of overtime per week. He sometimes deleted overtime records to conceal the fact that he was not paying workers the required amount, the release says.

Chi-Dzul was previously a victim of wage theft when he was a restaurant worker, the department said. In 2018, the agency recouped $831 in overtime wages that he’d earned from his then-employer, who investigators said was routinely altering pay records to hide the fact that employees weren’t being paid for the time they’d worked, the release says.

During that investigation, the agency recovered a total of $14,758 for four workers, the release says. The release does not name the business.

“Chi-Dzul suffered wage theft as a restaurant worker, yet – when in a position to do right by his own workers – he chose to inflict worse financial suffering on people who trusted him as their employer and then attempted to cover it up,” Aguilar said. “This case serves as another unfortunate reminder that wage theft is a common and serious concern for restaurant industry workers, many of whom are vulnerable and afraid to complain.”

But Chi-Dzul wrote that as a restaurant owner, he strives to create a respectful workplace that operates in compliance with all laws.

“I feel proud of what me and my team have done to serve our community in a very difficult period for small businesses and restaurants during the pandemic,” he wrote. “I just hope our customers and the people of Portland do not take what the (Department of Labor) says at face value, will understand there is much more to this story.”

This story was originally published January 9, 2023 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Once a wage-theft victim, restaurateur now accused of cheating his own workers, feds say."