Voorhees Diner to pay almost $400K in back wages, faces harassment suit
Jim WalshCAMDEN – The operator of the Voorhees Diner has agreed to pay almost $400,000 to resolve claims it violated federal wage laws, court records show.
The payment, to be made in installments to more than 80 past and present employees, marks the second such agreement between the Route 73 restaurant and the U.S. Labor Department.
It paid about $65,000 to settle similar allegations of minimum wage and overtime violations in 2015.
Payments under the new agreement will range from more than $44,000 to less than $100, according to a court record.
And the eatery’s legal woes aren’t over.
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In a lawsuit filed this month, a waitress contends the restaurant’s management failed to act on her complaints of persistent sexual harassment by a fellow employee.
Courtney Starner of Lindenwold wants unspecified damages from Voorhees Diner Corp., owner Mark Klein and a kitchen manager identified only as John. Her lawsuit also seeks court-ordered programs to address issues of discrimination and retaliation at the diner.
Starner, a diner employee since November 2014, contends she faced “unwanted touching, misogynistic comments, and vile behavior for years,” her attorney, Matthew Luber of Marlton, said Tuesday.
“When she complained, her bosses could not have cared less and, worse, retaliated,” he asserted.
An attorney for the restaurant has not yet responded to Starner’s suit, which was filed Aug. 16 in Superior Court, Camden. A diner representative could not be reached for immediate comment.
The Labor Department filed its latest claims in a civil lawsuit in June, citing alleged wage violations dating to November 2016. It claimed some servers and bussers received no direct wage and instead worked only for tips “in many workweeks."
The agency also asserted the 24-hour business denied overtime pay to some workers.
Under a consent order that resolves the federal claims, Klein and Voorhees Diner Corp. must pay wages of at least $7.25 an hour, the federal minimum, and provide overtime pay to eligible workers.
The defendants also must pay about $178,500 “for unpaid minimum wage and overtime back wages,” the order says. They have agreed to pay an equal amount to workers in liquidated damages.
The order also calls for the payment of about $27,600 in interest, bringing the total to about $395,500.
The diner also must pay “the employer’s share” of any applicable state and federal taxes, says the consent order, which was approved Aug. 6 by U.S. District Judge Joseph Rodriguez in Camden.
In her civil rights suit, Starner alleges she faced sexual comments and advances from the kitchen manager, who’s accused of throwing plates and sabotaging customers’ meal orders when the waitress complained.
The suit also claims Klein did not act on Starner’s repeated appeals that he take action against the kitchen manager.
In a text included in the lawsuit, Starner allegedly wrote to Klein, “He grabbed my leg and my thigh and that’s okay? And now he’s mad. No that’s not okay.”
"This is harassment," read another text. "I hope you have enough money to cover these lawsuits."
Jim Walsh is a free-range reporter who’s been roaming around South Jersey for decades. His interests include crime, the courts, economic development and being first with breaking news. Reach him at jwalsh@gannettnj.com or look for him in traffic.
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