Letter to Union Kitchen Wage Theft Plaintiffs Regarding Bounced Settlement Checks:
I am writing to share an important development in our settlement with Union Kitchen over the company’s illegal practice of withholding tips from you.
As a plaintiff in the settlement, you are entitled to compensation for the tips you should have been paid, plus damages. But as you may have experienced, when Union Kitchen sent out the payments, in many cases, the checks bounced.
This is entirely unacceptable. Union Kitchen owes you this money, and by failing to pay it, the company and its owner, Cullen Gilchrist, are flagrantly violating the terms of our settlement.
Accordingly, we have filed a motion in DC Superior Court to enforce the settlement and compel the company to pay you what you are owed, plus interest for the missed payments. We have also asked for compensation for damages you may have incurred as a result of the bounced checks. For example, if you deposited the settlement check, paid a bill, and then incurred a fee from your bank for unintentionally overdrawing your account when the check bounced, we are pursuing compensation for those charges.
Our first hearing on the matter was scheduled for September 4, 2025 but the court has since delayed it until October 9, 2025. We will keep you updated as the case progresses. We are committed to pursuing justice for you and the other plaintiffs and we will not rest until Union Kitchen and Mr. Gilchrist are held accountable for violating the law.
As a plaintiff in our wage theft case, please make sure your contact information is up to date by filling out our form at ufcw400.org/ukwagetheft
In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns. You can call our headquarters at 301-459-3400 (Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.) or call the attorneys at Handley Farah & Anderson Law Firm at 202-559-2433.
Sincerely,
Mark Federici
UFCW Local 400 President
UFCW International Vice President