Voltaire Beach House in Ocean Beach has been closed indefinitely due to an employer-employee pay dispute.
Open since January 2017, the open-air bar-restaurant at 4934 Voltaire St. shuttered recently after employees accused ownership of failing to pay their wages. Ownership, in turn, has countered that employees were attempting to cheat them out of money by claiming excessive overtime.
Caught in the middle was The Artist Outpost art school located behind the beach house, which shares a landlord with the restaurant.
“We don’t know anything about VBH and their employees,” emailed The Artist Outpost. “We learned about it along with the rest of the community, about two weeks ago, over social media.”
Added The Artists Outpost: “It was frightening to have our business and staff’s livelihoods put into jeopardy when we learned our sublease rent wasn’t being paid forward to the building owner. We’re relieved it’s finally resolved, after several months of feeling we were in limbo. We were closed Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 5-8.”
A sign posted on the wall of Voltaire Beach House contends the restaurant is closed because staff has not been paid for a month. Employees have subsequently alleged, via social media, that timely payment of wages has been an ongoing issue.
California employment and wage laws stipulate employers must pay employees their earned wages on time, at least twice a month on regularly scheduled paydays. Failure to do so can result in substantial penalties for the employer. Those penalties may include fines, interest on unpaid wages, and potential lawsuits.
California law also requires that, if an employee is terminated or quits, they must receive their final paycheck immediately, or within a specific period. If employee allegations are proven true against Voltaire Beach House, the owners could face legal action and be required to compensate employees for unpaid wages and any state penalties assessed.
The Peninsula Beacon was unsuccessful in reaching the owners, or employees, of Voltaire Beach House for further comment.
