KIWA (Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates of SC) and MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) announced on March 20 the settlement of a lawsuit against a Koreatown restaurant for unpaid wages and penalties.

The popular "Elephant Snack Corner Restaurant," located at 9th and Western in Los Angeles Koreatown, was sued in April 2000 by eight of its former employees for violating California wage laws, including failing to pay overtime wages.

In an unprecedented settlement, the employer agreed to pay an undisclosed sum in compensation, as well as to participate in procedures to ensure that the restaurant complies with labor laws.

The employer agreed to a three-year monitoring scheme, where KIWA and MALDEF will hold labor law seminars for current employees and monitor payroll practices for three years. The wage dispute has been the subject of weekly community protests since April 2000.

A national nonprofit organization, MALDEF promotes and protects the civil rights of Latinos and other under served groups through advocacy, community education and outreach, leadership development, higher education scholarships and, when necessary, through the legal system.

KIWA is a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights of low-wage, immigrant workers in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 1996, KIWA launched the Restaurant Worker Justice Campaign to bring attention to the problems of sub-minimum wages and inhumane treatment of workers in the Koreatown restaurant industry.