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Owners of Columbus bar that closed without warning sued by former employee

Updated: 22-10-2024, 04.09 AM

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The owners of a Columbus bar that closed suddenly are being sued by their former general manager, who alleges they violated labor laws.

The owners of Adelaide’s Gin Joint were sued by their former manager in June, just weeks before the Old North bar closed without warning. The lawsuit names both owners and the company they share in the lawsuit, who are not named here because they have not been charged with a crime.

The former manager is suing for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, retaliation by termination, civil liability for criminal acts and retaliation for an employee refusing to commit criminal acts.

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According to court documents, the manager began his employment as the general manager on Oct. 1, 2023. He signed a contract with the owners which included a provision that if he was fired without misconduct violations, he was owed $10,000.

The former employee alleged that on Dec. 1, 2023, he received a call from one of the owners, who asked him to cut a regularly scheduled employee on the payroll and replace them with her son, who was not an employee. In his lawsuit complaint document, the former manager recalled he was uncomfortable and would not do that, and accused the owner of yelling at him on the phone, alleging she told him she decided who would work.

The manager noted in his complaint that he was uncomfortable, because her son was being paid under the table and claimed the owner said it was cheaper to do so because her son only got $10 an hour, less than the state minimum wage of $10.10 in 2023.

The complaint alleged the then-manager told his boss that her request violated labor laws. In response, she allegedly hung up the phone.

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According to court documents, the former manager had a meeting with each of the former owners independently to try and move past the “distant and aloof” treatment he received from them after that call. He then alleged that on Dec. 18, he received an email saying he was terminated. A copy of the email was included in court documents and does not list a reason or contract violation that led to him being fired.

Adelaide’s Gin Joint opened in October 2023, and its owners have yet to offer an explanation for the sudden closing. NBC4 reached out to the people named in the lawsuit, but none have responded.

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