Today the official closure of Harvey Milk’s American Diner was announced. The online announcement, by owner Frank Lechner, stated that the diner was officially closed for good and that all the employees had been paid. LGBT Weekly reached out to Lechner for comment but he was unavailable at press time.
LGBT Weekly did speak with employees who indicated they had been paid but were asked to sign a document releasing Harvey Milk’s American Diner from any legal action. One source indicated that each person was offered two days “bonus” pay if they signed the legal document which also indicated that the employee was paid in full.
Sources indicate that some employees refused to sign because they had begun action with the San Diego Labor Board. According to the Labor Board Web site, Harvey Milk’s may be liable for one day’s pay to each employee for each day beyond 72 hours after closure that the employee did not receive their wages. That means the diner owed many employees 16 days additional pay not the two days of bonus pay offered.
One employee said he was told that the company was facing bankruptcy and if he pursued action through the Labor Board he would need to get a lawyer, be tied up in court and would ultimately not get a penny. The employee also indicated that one of the owner’s representatives told him he would not receive his final pay if he did not sign the legal action waiver. Ultimately, the employee did not sign but was paid his wages.
The final chapter on Harvey Milk’s American Diner has been written. Now the community waits with bated breath to find out what will be moving into the corner of Sixth and University.
One more sad chapter for Harvey Milk’s Diner. The State Labor Board will nor be pleased with an Employer demanding employees sign a Release and promise to not pursue statutory protective remedies BEFORE final wages due were paid. Probably a per se violation of the State Labor Code.
The Release may well be unenforceable as a matter of law, and could precipitate significant penalties for the Milk’s owners and management.
Think Harvey would be proud of this ? Is this how he would treat his employees ?
I’m glad LGBT Weekly has been on top of this story. My guess is that if this wasn’t in the media spotlight, the employees wouldn’t have seen their final pay.
Looks like the lawyers for Milks foundation contradicted what Nicole was quoted as saying in the previous article!!
The idea of naming a restaurant after Harvey Milk was not well thought out, either by the owner or the Harvey Milk Foundation. San Diego has been a great place for gays to live, work and play. The Milk Foundation only thought of the percentage they could make out of it based on success. Sadly, the biggest loser was the gay community of San Diego. This endeavor lacked imagination. I was a publicist in the early gay rights movement in San Francisco and a friend of Harvey. One of my clients was truly an original. C.David Kulman aka David the Matchmater. A real N.Y. Jewish Yenta. I was able to book him on Donahue and the Today Show,as well as CNN and various print and broadcast shows. He was amusing, and he treated his clients well and with respect. His success in S.F. made it possible for him to open offices in West Hollywood and San Diego. He enjoyed San Diego so much he moved there. He often tried to get me to move there, always telling me it was a great place to live. I believe there are many talented gays in San Diego who could of made a success out of a restaurant by coming up with a fun name and build a trend without trying to live off a name that already has a holiday,schools,library and movie named for Harvey Milk.
Bad concept from the start, to utilize someone who was assassinated!
Would you have the Martin Luther King Diner, the JFK Diner??
I think not.