By: Lisa Chedekel
Acting on a complaint from the parent of an underage worker, the Connecticut Labor Department shut down the Hung Won Restaurant at 11 East High St. in East Hampton after finding a number of workplace violations. The inspectors determined that the owner of the restaurant, Jimmy Chan, had been illegally hiring and employing minors without the necessary paperwork or workers’ compensation insurance. Five underage employees were involved.
Chan was “taking unfair advantage of his employees, the majority for whom this was their first on-the-job experience,” Labor Commissioner Sharon M. Palmer said.
The Labor Department ordered the restaurant closed on Sept. 25, but inspectors found that Chan had re-opened the following day. The department then shut down the restaurant again and only allowed it to re-open after Chan showed proof of properly placing the workers on the payroll and obtaining worker’s compensation, officials said.
