Concord Pub Owner Fined $10K, Sentenced To Probation

CONCORD, CA — An East Bay restaurant owner accused of failing to provide workers' compensation insurance for his employees was found guilty of labor law violations Tuesday by a Contra Costa County jury, according to prosecutors.

David Michael Bufano, of Grant Street Pub & Pizzeria in Concord, was fined $10,000 and sentenced to two years of probation. The charges against him included failure to obtain workers' compensation insurance and failure to observe a work stop order issued by the state Department of Industrial Relations, both of which are misdemeanor offenses.

That agency worked with county prosecutors as part of a joint operation involving surprise inspections over the summer, ultimately filing a criminal complaint against Bufano in July.

Prosecutors said Bufano's pub was cited June 25, but the employees were back at work at his direction the day after a work stop order was issued. During a follow-up inspection on June 27, employees were back at work and Bufano had still not obtained workers' comp insurance.

"This conviction demonstrates that employers who cheat their workers — whether of wages or the protections of workers compensation — will not get away with it," state Labor Commissioner Julie A. Su said Wednesday in a statement. "The victims of such practices are not just working people but law-abiding employers and we will do everything in our power to level the playing field."

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