David Burke Restaurants Sued For Religious Discrimination And Wage Payment Violations

David Burke’s restaurants have been hit with a class action lawsuit for religious discrimination, retaliation, and wage payment violations. The class action lawsuit was filed against Chef David Burke and a number of his restaurants, “Fishtail,” “David Burke Townhouse,” “David Burke at Bloomingdale’s,” and “David Burke Kitchen,” by attorneys for Ibrahima Kaba, a former cleaning worker at David Burke Townhouse. Kaba claims that he and other Muslim employees were denied the right to attend mandated Friday noon prayer at a mosque. The lawsuit also alleges that Kaba was wrongfully terminated in retaliation for complaining about religious discrimination and that other Muslim employees have similarly been retaliated against for their complaints by having their schedules reduced, being denied opportunities for equal compensation, or being terminated. According to Kaba’s lawyers, he was also not paid overtime pay for hours worked over forty, received improper wage deductions for meals, and was not given required wage statements and annual wage notices in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York labor laws. Lawyers for the workers seek economic and compensatory damages, unpaid wages, unpaid overtime, liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees, and an injunction ordering David Burke’s restaurants to cease its discriminatory practices.