Local News in Brief : Employer Reportedly Settles Dispute Over Pay for Retarded

Officials of a nonprofit West San Fernando Valley job-training program said Monday that a restaurateur has resolved a dispute over allegedly unpaid wages owed to retarded workers he hired to clean his dining room.

As a result, Small Claims Court proceedings scheduled for Monday against the Slim Cuisine restaurant in Woodland Hills were dropped, said Harriet Rechtman, manager of Work Training Program Inc.

Rechtman’s organization sued the restaurant, asking for $625 for eight program participants who worked at the restaurant from December to April.

Rechtman said the case was withdrawn because Mike Fessinger, operator of the restaurant, delivered a check for the full amount.

Crews of handicapped workers in the program travel to businesses and work under the supervision of job-training specialists to learn proper work habits and cleanup techniques. They are paid on the basis of how closely their work matches that of non-retarded workers, and can earn up to $85 a month.

The Slim Cuisine restaurant had been the first West Valley company to hire a crew after the program was launched last year.

Although Fessinger had earlier described the workers as “fabulous,” he declined to discuss the payment dispute last month.