Terrace Bagel Employee Effed: Pays for Health Inspection Aftermath Costs, No OT

photo by Anthony Lanzilote via The NY Daily News

Being a resident of Windsor Terrace for nigh-on 10 years, I find that few things make me excited in this hood (that's why I spend most of my time in Park Slope). But Terrace Bagels is one of those few things. I know most Windsor Terracians prefer Connecticut Muffin because they're nicer and the line isn't confusing, but I always liked my bagels with abuse. It's recently come to light that the owner of this Windsor Terrace mainstay may be abusing his employees. Or so says Michael Bergamaschi, the former Terrace Bagels employee who often served me my multi-grain bagel with low-fat veggie cream cheese.

Mr. Bergamaschi was allegedly fired because he complained to the TB owner about having his wages garnished to help foot Board of Health violations costs. That's right: when Terrace Bagels was given a B grade on it's inspection this September, it was also cited with 27 violations including such tasty things as evidence of mice and flies. The owners claimed that is was the employees fault and, according to Bergamaschi, took $25 out of the paychecks of all the counter workers and $50 from the kitchen workers to help cover the cost of the fine. 

Bergamaschi reluctantly paid the fine, but after doing some homework on labor laws found that he wasn't even being paid for his overtime hours. He recently told the New York Daily News about confronting the manager:

The manager told me, ‘You know what, if it’s going to be a problem, you might as well get the f--- out of here. You’re fired,’

Bergamaschi has now decided to sue the TB's owner for $31,000 dollars in back pay and damages because he said he and other employees worked 50-70 hour weeks without being paid overtime. 

According to Lynda Liebhauser, lawyer for Terrace Bagels, the owner is denying that he docked his workers to pay for violations. She is quoted as saying:

Thompson does everything by the books. He’s been around for a long period of time. He may be old fashioned in his business but he does everything by the law.

Here's my question: if this is really going on, why haven't more employees quit? I mean, didn't they hear about the Gorilla Coffee quit-a-thon a while back?

[via The New York Daily News]