Sushi operator penalised for “deliberate and calculated” exploitation of workers

A sushi outlet operator has been fined $136,250 for failing to pay workers their due wages. Employees of the Sushi Kuni outlet, four of which were overseas employees from Korea, were deliberately underpaid with a flat rate that ignored minimum wage, overtime and weekend pay rate laws and resulted in severe underpayments to the emplyoees, the Federal Circuit Court in Brisbane found. When confronted with the underpayment, the owner, Dai Il Kang, cited poor revenues as his justification for underpayment. Kang sold the company and cleaned out his bank account once he was put on notice for underpayment of employees in an attempt to avoid paying them. Fair Labor representative Natalie James sees this ruling as a victory for all over seas workers who can be susceptible to exploitation.

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