Otium Restaurant employees finally get their paychecks, but some miss out

After weeks of failing to pay back wages to their former workers, the owners of the now-closed Otium handed out checks over the weekend. But several workers say their last paycheck was missing by hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars.

Maria Ramos Hernandez, a dishwasher at Otium, said the restaurant still owes her at least $2,000.

“That’s unfair. I worked for them washing dishes for seven years,” she said in Spanish. “I didn’t get paid for my vacation. I didn’t get paid for the last day I worked.”

She wasn't the only one. Two other workers also said their checks were short and they didn't account for late penalties associated with the delay. Otium distributed the checks days after workers demonstrated outside the empty restaurant, demanding they be paid after going weeks without their final checks.

About a month before Otium's Sept. 8 closure, the once-acclaimed restaurant announced on Instagram that it was closing permanently after nine years in business, saying financial difficulties led to the decision.

In 2015, Otium opened to great fanfare in an airy building in the Broad museum complex under the direction of celebrity chef Timothy Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth, who was executive chef under Thomas Keller at the French Laundry, co-owned the restaurant with Carl Schuster, a founding partner of Wolfgang Puck Catering and CEO and founder of Cast Iron Partners. The restaurant opened with partners that included philanthropist Eli Broad and restaurant entrepreneur Bill Chait, who owned Hollingsworth's previous barbecue restaurant, Barrel & Ashes.

On Friday afternoon, Otium announced on Instagram that it would begin paying workers over the weekend, telling workers that the final checks could be picked up at the restaurant.

Melissa Cristina Mendoza, a waitress at Otium for eight years, said Schuster was at the restaurant handing out checks when she realized her last payment was $600 missing. “I don’t have any money,” she told him.

She said Schuster instructed her to speak to the general manager, who referred her to human resources. She received no response, Mendoza said.

In a prepared statement, Hollingsworth referred questions to Schuster, who handles payroll.

In an email to The Times, Schuster said he only had “two employees mention that they thought there was a discrepancy… I reached out to payroll this morning.”

Schuster said they have not yet calculated the waiting time penalties and will distribute those checks at a later date, but could not say when. “We wanted them to get paid as quickly as possible,” he said.

Schuster said he apologized if he “missed a few things.” He said he has no intention of laying off workers and is working to correct the problem.

Weekend payments were made using East West Bank cashier's checks. On Monday morning, Hernandez took the bus to a downtown branch of the bank, but she said the teller refused to cash her check for $1,723.12.

“They tell me they can’t verify if there are funds,” she said in Spanish. “They tell me to go back. What happens? I really need this money. I have a right to this money. I have already worked for this money. And they owe me more money.”