Spago Restaurant Sued By Former Employee For Alleged Harassment

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — A former line cook is suing Spago, the legendary Wolfgang Puck restaurant on North Canon Drive in Beverly Hills, for alleged harassment and wrongful termination.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Kevin Peralta alleged that he experienced racial discrimination, and the restaurant would not provide meal and rest breaks or overtime, among other complaints. Peralta seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Spago representatives were unavailable for comment.

Peralta was hired in March 2013 as a line cook. According to the suit, he was repeatedly harassed by managers due to his Guatemalan background. One manager allegedly told him, “You Guatemalans are ghetto,” according to the suit.

Another manager often disparaged Peralta and once asked, “Why are you looking at me like that with that stupid face?” the suit alleges.

Peralta regularly worked more than eight hours a day, but did not receive overtime or regular meal or rest breaks, and his complaints were ignored, according to the suit.

In March 2019, Peralta asked for leave to care for his pregnant wife. When he returned in June, he alleges that he was subjected to even more hostile working conditions. One manager allegedly said, “We don’t care about your friends,” following the death of two of Peralta’s close friends.

After taking time off to care for his wife and newborn daughter, Peralta was fired on Aug. 1, 2019.

Spago was also sued in 2009, when a customer alleged that the floor of the restaurant bathroom was filled with human waste, and the only usable toilet didn’t have a lock on the door. Plaintiff Marjorie Linden said she had to reach to keep the door shut, but was knocked onto the floor when another customer tried to enter. Linden said she broke her back, damaged her knee, and was emotionally traumatized.

At the time, Spago dismissed the claim as “without merit.”

— Michael Wittner and City News Service contributed to this report.