According to the US Department of Labour, in an odd instance, the owner of a restaurant chain in California, hired a fake priest to hear confessions from employees, encouraging them to “get the sins out.” The restaurant’s proprietor, Che Garibaldi, runs two Taqueria Garibaldi locations in Roseville and one in Sacramento. He reportedly employed the fake priest who questioned employees about whether or not they harbored ill feelings for their employer or whether they had done anything to hurt the business.
Like everyone else, the Department of Labour was in disbelief. According to the department’s official assessment, throughout the years, its federal employees had witnessed all manner of shenanigans from dishonest employers, but Garibaldi’s deception was possibly the “most shameless.” One of the workers informed the Department of Labour about the poor business practices employed by Garibaldi. The employee further claimed that the company fired one employee who they suspected had complained to the department and that the company illegally paid managers from the employee tip pool, threatened employees with reprisal and negative immigration repercussions for working with the government, and fired one employee.
The restaurant’s server, Maria Parra, stated in court that her discussion with the fake priest was different from typical confessions
“Under oath, an employee of Taqueria Garibaldi explained how the restaurant offered a supposed priest to hear their workplace ‘sins’ while other employees reported that a manager falsely claimed that immigration issues would be raised by the department’s investigation,” said the Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin in a release.
After that, the issue was brought before Judge William B. Shubb in the District Court for the Eastern District of California, who mandated that 35 workers be given $140,000 in back wages and damages from Che Garibaldi and owners Eduardo Hernandez, Hector Manual Martinez Galindo, and Alejandro Rodriguez. A server in the restaurant, Maria Parra, stated in court that her discussion with the fake priest was different from typical confessions. The priest advised her that he would ask questions to draw out the “sins” rather than making the confession she desired.
“He asked if I had ever got pulled over for speeding, if I drank alcohol, or if I had stolen anything. The priest asked if I had stolen anything at work, if I was late to my employment, if I did anything to harm my employer, and if I had any bad intentions toward my employment,” said Parra, according to court documents. The false priest had no affiliation with the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, according to a statement they issued at the same time. Although we don’t know who the individual was, a spokesman for the Sacramento Diocese declared, “We are absolutely certain he was not a priest of the Diocese of Sacramento.”
