Scott-Allen returned to New York and hammered out details of moving to the California restaurant, eventually filling out the company’s internal transfer form in February 2016 and agreeing to start her new position that April, the lawsuit says. Minnillo told her the French Laundry “would love” to have her work there, the lawsuit says. She was promoted through the ranks until she was named a “captain” or head server at the restaurant, where set menus start at $355 per person and she earned a six-digit salary.Īccording to the lawsuit, she visited the French Laundry in January 2016 during a vacation to California with her husband and told General Manager Michael Minnillo they were considering a move out West. Scott-Allen, 28, started at Per Se in 2011 as a kitchen server who plated food. A Thomas Keller Restaurant Group spokesman, Pierre Rougier, said the company cannot comment on pending litigation.Īn attorney for the company told the court Monday that Scott-Allen was dismissed because of performance issues, not her pregnancy, and that she had misconstrued pleasantries as a formal job offer, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Keller was named as an individual defendant because he owns and controls the two restaurants. In the case of Scott-Allen, “they found out she was pregnant and figured out a way to backpedal on” a job transfer, she said. She said the case will highlight antiquated traditions in the fine dining world where men are favored for high-paying “front of the house” jobs and seen as more suitable to interact with high-paying guests. “This is one of the last bastions where it is OK for women to be discriminated against,” Minnard said ahead of the trial in Napa County Superior Court. Vanessa Scott-Allen is seeking $5 million in damages for allegations that include sex discrimination and violation of pregnancy disability leave and says she hopes her trial, which started Monday, will draw attention to a “culture of misogyny in fine dining,” said her attorney, Carla Minnard. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.Ī former employee of celebrated chef Thomas Keller is suing him and his three-star Michelin restaurants - Per Se in New York and the French Laundry in California - for discrimination, saying she was denied a job transfer and ultimately let go because she was pregnant. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |