Several employees of Chestnut Supermarket in South Williamsburg claimed in a lawsuit that they were strip-searched, threatened with deportation, and then fired after their irate manager falsely accused them of stealing a customer’s cash.
The employees were allegedly locked in an office one-by-one and berated, called names, assaulted and battered by their supervisor, Joel Epstein. During the incident on April 5, the manager accused the employees of stealing a pile of cash that a female customer had apparently left in a bathroom.
Epstein claimed he had each of the workers on surveillance video in the bathroom, and he first accused them of taking $1,400 in lost cash. Later, he claimed $1,500 had been taken before settling on $1,700 as the amount missing.
When employee Francisca Orduna was brought into the office, Epstein allegedly demanded that she take off her clothes. She refused and began recording Epstein, who then pushed her against a wall and took her phone, according to the legal filing.
In addition to Orduna, Emanuel Rodriguez Quintana and Luis Dominguez were also ordered to remove their clothing for bosses to check for the missing money.
Three other workers who witnessed the incident and refused to lie about it were later fired. The employees are now seeking unspecified damages, with their lawyers stating that they were “openly dehumanized” during the incident.
The workers’ lawyers commented that the employees were treated in a humiliating and degrading manner. They also claimed that it was unthinkable that an employer could behave in this way towards their staff.
The store manager declined to comment on the matter, while Epstein could not be reached.
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