Harlem Chef Marcus Samuelsson Sued For Racial Discrimination

HARLEM, NY — Harlem chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson is being accused of racial discrimination and wage skimming by a former employee, according to a class action lawsuit filed in federal court.

Campus Johnson claims in the lawsuit that he was recently fired from his job as a bartender at Samuelsson's popular Harlem eatery Red Rooster because he is a black man. The allegations differ widely from Samuelsson's public statements about how the restaurant industry needs to open more opportunities for black chefs.

Johnson began working at Red Rooster as a porter in 2014, was promoted to a barback in 2015 and then to a bartender in 2016, according to the lawsuit. After being fired for what he describes as "a completely fabricated reason," Johnson is now claiming Samuelsson fostered "a plain aversion to black male bartenders" at Red Rooster. The former employee also claim's Red Roosters owners "shaved tipped employee's time to line their own pockets."

For the majority of Johnson's employment at Red Rooster, he was the only male black bartender on a staff of about 10 bartenders, he claims in a lawsuit. At times, there was "at most one other" male black bartender and while there were some female black bartenders they were "clearly in the minority," according to the lawsuit.

"Given Red Rooster's location in Harlem, a largely African-American community, and its owner Marcus Samuelsson's outspokenness on the challenges that African Americans face in the restaurant industry, the lack of African-American bartenders at Red Rooster was conspicuous," reads the lawsuit against Samuelsson.

On March 8, Johnson was fired two days after requesting time off to take care of his mother, who was suffering from leukemia. Red Rooster owners claimed the firing was due to Johnson's failure to monitor drink pouring, but the former employee calls the reason "blatantly false." Insead, Johnson claims he was fired because of his race and his request for time off, which is protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Johnson also alleges that the owners of Red Rooster engaged in wage theft. The former bartender claimed that owners skimmed a half-hour of pay each workday for a break in which employees weren't actually allowed to take. Johnson also claimed that he was paid $5.15 per hour when starting as a barback in 2015 and $9 an hour when starting as a bartender in 2016, both rates less than the state minimum wage.

A lawyer representing Marcus Samuelsson Group called Johnson's lawsuit "wholly without merit," in a prepared statement.

The full statement is included below:

This lawsuit is wholly without merit. The employee was provided every opportunity to succeed. But, after multiple documented counselings and then warnings, was ultimately terminated. The claims of discrimination are baseless and quite frankly, ridiculous. Marcus Samuelsson Group is minority owned and operated and the majority of staff is African American men and women. Drive-by litigation such as this matter not only harms small business owners but also attack an industry that brings more private sector jobs to New York than any other. We are confident that the restaurant will prevail in this frivolous lawsuit.

Read the full lawsuit below:

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