A Bronx man slapped celebrity chef David Burke with a lawsuit Wednesday claiming four of his Manhattan upscale eateries prohibit Muslim staffers from following their religious beliefs and that he got fired after taking a break for required Friday prayer.
Ibrahima Kaba, a former cleaning worker at David Burke Townhouse restaurant on East 61st Street, filed the class-action lawsuit in Manhattan federal court against Burke’s business corporations. It alleges the culinary whiz’s Muslim staffers are “subject to discrimination on the basis of their religion” and “retaliated against” should they dare practice their faith while on clock.
“Muslim employees are obligated to ignore their religious requirements due to the fear of retaliation and termination from the management,” the suit says.
The alleged discriminatory practices against Muslims are also happening at David Burke at Bloomingdale’s, David Burke’s Kitchen, and Fishtail restaurant, says the suit.
Kaba, who began working for Burke in June 2012, claims he informed a restaurant manager before being hired that he couldn’t work on Fridays because he needed to pray from noon to 2 pm at a mosque. He alleges the manager then said it was not a problem.
However, weeks later the eatery began scheduling him to work on Fridays, so Kaba insisted he’d had to “step out for a few hours” for prayer, the complaint says. His bosses allegedly fired him in August 2012 after he snubbed orders that he not briefly leave work to pray.
Kaba also alleges he “personally observed” other Muslim employees working for David Burke Group being “denied the right to attend the Friday noon prayer at a mosque, even when they express the need to do so.”
The suit also alleges Kaba was hired to work 40 hours a week at an hourly rate on $8.25 but was also ordered to work an additional eight-hour shift without compensation every other week.
The suit claims more than 1,000 people have worked at the four restaurants over the past three years and that 50 are Muslim.
It seeks a court order requiring the eateries to end their alleged discriminatory practices, compensation for days worked without pay and other money damages.
Steven Gold, a lawyer for Burke’s firm, said the company is a “responsible employer that abides by all applicable labor statutes.” He said the company would investigate the allegations in the complaint.
Kaba’s lawyer did not return messages.