San Diego County sued five grocery store sushi companies last week, alleging that the firms orchestrated a “misclassification scheme” to cheat sushi chefs out of fair wages and forced the workers to pay for equipment, including a sushi robot.
The lawsuit alleges that the companies violated labor laws by misclassifying sushi chefs as independent contractor franchisees rather than employees to avoid paying minimum wages, providing paid sick leave and providing meal and rest breaks, among other violations.
“These ‘franchises’ are truly sham arrangements under which sushi chefs pay to work while Defendants evade numerous labor laws,” the lawsuit read…