'Get the sins out' | Employer hires fake priest to extract work 'confessions' from staff

An company has been ordered to pay over £100,000 in damages for hiring a fake priest to extract work-related ‘confessions’ from its staff of 35 workers.

An investigation and civil court case was launched following several violations made by the restaurant chain Taqueria Garibaldi and its owner Che Garibaldi, including paying employee tips to managers, withholding overtime pay and hiring the fake man of the cloth to encourage employees to reveal suspected wrongdoings.

Marc Pilotin, Regional Solicitor of Labor, explained: “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.

“This employer’s despicable attempts to retaliate against employees were intended to silence workers, obstruct an investigation and prevent the recovery of unpaid wages.”