The steakhouse chain founded by the ‘Salt Bae‘ is being sued for failing to pay its employees overtime.
A lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court alleging that ‘Salt Bae,’ real name Nusret Gokce, improperly classified employees as managers to avoid having to pay overtime wages. The workers recruited from Turkey to work at the US restaurants were then made to work grueling hours. Some were reportedly working more than 70 hours a week.
Five grill men are bringing the suit against Gokce and his New York-based Saltbae Burger restaurant and the Nusr-Et Steakhouses. The steakhouses have locations in New York, Dallas, and Miami. Four of the five men, Ersel Ok, Muhammet Yilmaz, Emre Isler and Eyyup Yeniceri, live in Queens. According to the lawsuit, the fifth complainant, Ibrahim Gecit, lives in Miami.
All five men worked in Instanbul at Nusr-Et Steakhouse before being recruited to work in the US on false pretenses. Then employees were led to believe they would be stepping into a management position but were instead paid a flat fee to work long hours with no overtime in a non-exempt position.
The suit also alleges that Gokce was aware of the situation and personally supervised the plaintiff’s work. “Gokce had an aggressive managerial style, frequently cursing at Plaintiffs and blaming them for other employees’ mistakes,” the complaint reads.
The men as asking for their unpaid wages as well as damages.
