Current and former employees of the popular San Francisco restaurant chain, Burma Superstar, filed a lawsuit Thursday, alleging the restaurant has lacked proper and fair wages for its workers.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs are seeking a class-action status, claiming the popular restaurant chain failed to pay many workers minimum wage while denying overtime pay breaks and even sick leave. Several workers also claimed the restaurant did not keep accurate time and pay records, resulting in false wage statements.
“We are their workers, but we are also people,” said Mong Tsai Ma, a cook at Burma Superstar in Oakland. “We just want to be treated fairly, and we want them to change their practice.
The majority of the workers the lawsuit aims to cover are immigrants who speak Spanish, Chinese, or Burmese.
“These brave workers have overcome cultural and language barriers to join together in bringing this case, not just for themselves, but for workers who are too scared to step forward,” said Palyn Hung Mitchell, an attorney at Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus.
Burma Superstar operates restaurants in Alameda, Oakland and San Francisco.
NBC Bay Area has reached out to the restaurant for comment.
