Suit Claims Bias in Restaurant Hiring

A prominent Latino rights organization has sued a Beverly Hills restaurant to highlight what it contends is a widespread discriminatory employment practice in the industry: giving low-end busboy and dishwasher jobs to Latinos while non-Latino whites get the better-paying positions of waiters and food runners. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against the Kate Mantilini restaurant, claiming that for years management overlooked Latinos working in the back while hiring Anglos for high-visibility jobs on the floor. The main plaintiff is Sergio Salinas, who worked as a busboy for 11 years and repeatedly asked for a promotion. In 1998, he and other busboys complained to management and later requested a meeting with the owner to address “fair treatment based on performance and not race.” He was fired the following day, according to the lawsuit. A restaurant manager would not comment on the suit Friday. MALDEF attorney Enrique Gallardo said he wants to pursue the suit as a class action.