The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund’s New Jersey-Asian American Legal Project announced Tuesday that it recovered the pay for three Korean workers from the Pokoo Sushi & Sashimi Restaurant on Broad Avenue.

“The three restaurant workers, all sushi chefs, often worked more than 12 hours a day and rarely got breaks while they were continuously prepping for restaurant patrons and delivery orders,” Elizabeth Koo, a program associate for the New Jersey Asian American Legal Project, said in a statement. “All workers are entitled to payment for the work they performed, regardless of immigration status.”

A woman at the eatery who answered the phone and identified herself as a cashier said the restaurant has been in existence for about six years and that it was not the owner’s intention not to pay the workers. She said business had been tough due to the bad economy.

“He was trying hard to pay them,” the woman said, declining to give her name.

Two of the three unnamed workers no longer work at the restaurant, Koo said. She said one of the workers received unpaid wages of more than $20,000, another received more than $12,000 and the third received more than $7,000.

Koo said the men had been told by the restaurant owner that business wasn’t good and that they should wait to be paid.

“The employer is still responsible to pay and follow the law, no exceptions,” Koo said. “Fortunately, this was a case where the employer chose to do the right thing, and the workers were paid quickly, without having to sue.”

Koo declined to say where the three men live, saying that they asked that their privacy be protected. She said they approached the organization for help and were all paid within a month, sometime in the fall.

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund is a national organization established in 1974. Last month the organization declared Nov. 17-20 as “National Days of Action Against Wage Theft,” in recognition of widespread wage violations that Asian immigrant workers face.

Last year, the organization was able to help former employees of another Korean restaurant, formerly known as Dokdo Sarang Restaurant on Broad Avenue, to recoup $48,000 in unpaid wages.

The New Jersey-Asian American Legal Project, which has been in operation since 2005, has helped recover $300,000 in back wages for Asian immigrants working in the Garden State, Koo said.

By Monsy Alvarado

E-mail: alvarado@northjersey.com

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