SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — A popular Middle Eastern restaurant in the metro Atlanta area is facing a class action lawsuit over allegations of unpaid wages, unpaid overtime and retaliatory firings.
According to a lawsuit filed in federal court, Rumi’s Kitchen in Sandy Springs, with additional locations in Alpharetta, Houston, Texas and the District of Columbia, and a location expected to open soon in Los Angeles.
The Sandy Springs location is currently undergoing renovations and is expected to reopen soon, as well.
In federal court, former Rumi’s Kitchen employee Joan Ruiz alleges that he and multiple other Rumi’s employees were not paid their agreed-upon wages.
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Rather than being paid for 40 hour weeks plus overtime, the class-action lawsuit filed against Rumi’s Kitchen and its chief operating officer, Stephen Kaplan, alleges employees worked between 70 and 80 hours per week, without being paid the overtime owed be due for those hours.
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The lawsuit also alleges that there was an illegal tip-sharing policy in the restaurant, requiring that tipped employees share as much as 28% of their tips with back of house staff, such as cooks and cleaning crews.
Ruiz, according to the court filing, worked at Rumi’s Kitchen from December 2024 to February 2025.
During his time at the company, Ruiz said in the court filing that the overtime practices and lack of payment for them, as well as the tip-sharing issues, were frequent.
When employees raised concerns over the unpaid overtime, Ruiz’ lawsuit alleges the company shorted hours, fired employees or changed schedules in retaliation.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to representatives for Rumi’s Kitchen for comment but has not received a response.
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