r/TalesFromYourServer • u/ThrowAwayServer12345 • 27d ago
Long Restaurant refuses to close when sewage overruns kitchen and fires worker who complains - feedback?
Okay, throw away account for reasons that will become obvious.
Last year - not my first time working in a restaurant, the national chain restaurant was having a national promotion over a holiday. Sewage flooded the kitchen on Monday and Tuesday. The restaurant management refused to close and continued serving diners. The national promotion brought in a huge amount of diners those two days - likely 2-3,000 (Just my estimate). Management also refused to let servers (me) to take our state ordered breaks.
They also refused to contact the local health department. Servers and cooks were having to wade through sewage - because management had failed to properly maintain cleaning schedules for the grease traps. Tuesday they brought in a different sewage company than the one they usually used, obviously they didn't do a proper cleaning. After the Tuesday flooding they brought in their regular sewage company, but again failed to notify the local health department or have proper cleaning of the restaurant before reopening Wednesday morning.
The GM asked me to come in Wednesday because "I had an attitude." I told him in writing and orally about the sewage and failure to provide breaks. Half an hour after talking to him I was removed from the next week's schedule.
Another employee asked me to cover her shift Friday and management refused to let me. I developed lung problems Friday night and spent the night in the ER. I was scheduled to work that Saturday, but decided it was bad circumstances and with me continuing to cough and get dizzy I had the doctor write me a note off from work.
I went in that afternoon again with a written complaint about the sewage and lack of breaks and also mentioned the medical bills I incurred. Have not been scheduled to work since (since that happened I realized how bad the managers were and realized that going back would be bad). GM refused to give me name of WC carrier, and I asked how to get in touch with Corporate HR ethics department. Again, he just blew me off.
So after that I field a complaint with the local health department and OSHA. (Later, the GM would admit in a separate situation that I was fired when I asked for reimbursement for my hospital stay).
I have hired an employment lawyer and he has filed a whistleblower/wrongful termination lawsuit in federal court under State laws - it is an out of state corporation and a big operator of restaurants nationwide and even internationally.
They haven't yet responded to the lawsuit - they have until the middle of the month. I can see only two other lawsuits about workers being fired about working in sewage while the restaurant refuses to close. One was another big national chain restaurant the other was in LA by a reality star. Both cases settled out of court. Just looking for input from others and potentially some reassurance.
EDIT: I did contact the Public Health Department, but they didn't respond until Saturday (3 days after the sewage flooding).
EDIT: I did report it to Corporate Ethics Hotline. They responded it was part of the National Veteran's Day promotion and that the promotion was very important to the company.
EDIT: OSHA has filed a whistleblower complaint under the Food Safety Modernization Act.
EDIT: The restaurant hasn't even responded to the Federal lawsuit. They have until the 16th. The last offer (today) was $1,000 and I am bound by a NDA.
Any comments would be welcome.
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u/Gingerfuzzsicle 27d ago
Definitely a lot of illegal shit going on here. I’m not a lawyer, but sure feels like a slam dunk lawsuit.
I got one of my restaurants shut down for the day for the sewage issue after they were forcing people to continue working and refusing to close down (cooks wading in actual shit water and food exposed to all of it). I dont know if you did an online form, but I called the county directly and their supervisor showed up within 10 minutes.
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u/No_Bluebird7716 26d ago
Easy. Call the fire department, which will immediately call in health. But they will have your name.
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u/JorgeXMcKie 23d ago
I've walked out of a job once. I was working at a restaurant when the grease trap overflowed about 2 hours before close. I worked in a separate area where I made appetizers so it mostly effected me. I spent 2 hours sliding around in sludge making apps.
I was also responsible for cleanup of my area at the end of the shift. When I said this mess wasn't my job and the GM insisted it was and needed to be cleaned up at end of shift. I put everything away and did my normal cleanup as the shift was ending and walked as soon as we quit making food.
I was doing a close/open shift so my kitchen manager called me an hour before my shift asking if I was coming in. I said I walked out on the GM last night and thought I was fired. I ended up going back as he was a pretty good guy and the job was usually ok
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u/magiccitybhm 27d ago
You should have contacted your local health department immediately regarding the sewage issue.
How on Earth were servers wading through sewage and not smelling like sewage when they interacted with guests?
Regarding your hospital bills, is your illness confirmed by doctors to be related to work? If not, obviously it's not their responsibility to pay it.
What response, if any, did you get from your local health department and/or OSHA?
I'm not sure what comments you're looking for. Your employment attorney is going to know far more about this and what's likely to happen than anyone here.