Stratford Restaurant Owners Accused Of Threatening Employees

STRATFORD, CT — Two Fairfield County restaurateurs who are accused of threatening employees and taking workers’ wages are the subject of a recent court order, according to federal officials.

The U.S. Department of Labor obtained the order against Christopher Delmonico, owner of the now-closed Chubby’s in Bridgeport and co-owner with Niall O’Neill of The Ole Dog Tavern, which has locations in Stratford and Fairfield, a department news release said.

“The defendants continually violated their employees’ rights, first denying them proper pay and then using intimidation to claw back the monies they were legally required to pay the employees to resolve the violations we found,” said Sarah Thomas, wage and hour division assistant district director, in the news release. “Their actions are illegal and unacceptable.”

Delmonico and O’Neill did not immediately return voice messages Tuesday seeking comment.

The men were ordered to pay over $137,000 in back wages and damages after a department investigation found they violated the Fair Labor Standards Act, according to the news release.

The pair then coerced their workers into kicking back thousands of dollars that were owed to the employees, the news release said. Delmonico and O’Neill did this by driving workers to a bank to cash checks and demanding payment on-site, threatening to report employees to immigration and law enforcement, threatening to blacklist a worker, and disparaging a fired worker to future employers, according to the news release.

Under the order, Delmonico, O’Neill and their businesses will be prohibited from reporting workers to the authorities and disparaging staff to other employers, according to the news release. The department will notify employees of their right to the wages and damages they are owed, the news release said.

“The U.S. Department of Labor will not tolerate employers threatening employees unlawfully with immigration consequences, law enforcement action, termination or blacklisting for asserting their workplace rights or keeping money that they are due,” Regional Solicitor of Labor Maia Fisher said in the news release. “Employers that do so should be prepared to see us in court.”

The department has filed a lawsuit to recover the money stolen from workers, and to pay damages to the employees and grant back-pay to a worker Delmonico fired illegally, according to the news release.