Recovery efforts are continuing for the owners of four Palm Desert businesses that were lost in an arson fire earlier this month. Some employees are now worried about what will happen to them moving forward.
Mary Saucedo, who was an employee at D’Coffee Bouteaque before the fire, is concerned about her financial situation since she hasn’t been paid for the last pay period she worked. News Channel 3 has attempted to contact the owner of the business for comment, but has not received a response.
On the other hand, the owner of Papa Dan’s Pizza and Pasta, Ira Mosley, has been working hard to keep up with payroll during this difficult time. Mosley shared that while he hopes the insurance company will reimburse a portion of the expenses, he has personally covered all costs so far.
Mosley also mentioned the challenge of finding work in the desert during the slower summer months and expressed his desire not to lose employees who have been with him for as long as 35 years. He plans to relocate his business within the same shopping center and aims to reopen by October. Additionally, he has started a GoFundMe campaign to support his employees.
Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers are required to pay non-exempt workers their regular wages for hours worked up to a disaster, as well as any overtime hours at one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay. According to California labor law, employees must be paid at least twice a month on designated paydays.
For more information on this story, tune in to News Channel 3 at 6:00 p.m. for the full report.