LUMMI ISLAND, Wash. – Legal woes continue for Lummi Island’s acclaimed Willows Inn.
The restaurant-and-hotel has agreed to pay $1.37 million to settle a class action lawsuit over wage theft.
The Seattle Times reports the lawsuit was brought by 137 former workers who said they were not paid for all the hours they worked and were not given proper meal and rest breaks.
The workers say the violations occurred between 2018 and 2022.
The Willows had already agreed to settle a separate similar suit for $600,000.
World renowned chef Blaine Wetzel owns and operates The Willows with a business partner.
In 2021, The New York Times published an article in which former employees accused him of running a toxic workplace that included racism and sexual harassment.
Wetzel has denied those claims.
