It would be helpful to mention the restaurants name ? Very sad if a place of business does this to their employees. Being I live here in Danville and do frequent differnt eating places around town I would really like to know which one is being investigated. Thank you.

It is mentioned and it's Kane Sushi. I've also noticed that they don't ring-up to-go, cash purchases on numerous occasions when I've gotten to-go food. Luckily Danville has other Japanese restaurants(KOJI'S is great with wonderful food) because I stopped going to that restaurant when I realized what they were doing!

I believe it IS mentioned as KANE SUSHI in the first paragraph.

Sounds like spending 12 years of hard labor...

It pains me to hear this. I have enjoyed Kane for years, and was just there on Monday night. I did notice that the portions now are smaller and they've raised some prices. Perhaps to recoup the money that they can't steal from their employees anymore. Shame on them. I'll be patronizing another sushi restaurant from now on.

We went to Kane Sushi once. For some reason, they seem to get a lot of good buzz in local media. The sushi was okay, not better or worse than other places. What I did notice, however, is that encourage patrons to drink by having serving "shooters" and clapping and shouting when patrons imbibe, or in my opinion, over-imbibe. I'm sure the motive is to sell more drinks, but this is not a responsible activity for a resaurant. The night we were there, all the employees gathered around a table of young people and seemed to encourage them to drink more than they should have. Employees and the patrons stood on the tables shouting every time someone took another shot. None of this is good for society or public safety.

Very disappointing as I've been a regular Kane customer. I'm now going to spend my money at other sushi establishments. They should be taken to the mat on these blatant violations against their employees. Tough enough to make a living in today's economy - but to have your employer 'strong-arm' you in siphoning their tips and not paying OT is inexcusable.

These are merely ALLEGATIONS and preliminary comments made by the Labor Department. I eat there all the time and am a former restaurant owner myself...these types of situations ususally occur because of a disgruntled or jealous employee or more frequently when the state is out money...hmmmm

I guess OBAMA's Plan of making the USA a socialist society is working...I am so glad that we Americans still believe in Innocent until proven Guilty....Shame on those above that have already made their judgement so quickly....your hands are dirty throwing the first stones

If I'm reading the article properly then the Labor Department has cited the owners of Kane Sushi for violations: skimming 4% of tips from credit card receipts and a third of the cash tips, not paying for overtime, paying "under the table", etc and they were fined $500,000. The Labor Department found them in violation of these wrong doings. The Labor Department found proof of these violations, these are not allegations.
I will not return to this restaurant.

Ummm, Kathy, were you asleep during high school civics? In our country, these are allegations until proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law with a jury that consists of the accused person's peers.

You know, for such an "upscale community", Danville is blessed with more than its share of mean, ignorant people.

Oh, and I forgot to add "judgemental", which seems a bit out of place for a town with so many church-goers.

Stop insulting each other and read the article. It contains the answers to your questions.
To quote the article, "Monterroza said the civil action filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court is separate from the citations issued.". The allegations are those made in the civil suit filed by the Labor Department, which would be subject to trial and includes innocent until proven guilty. The fines are for citations issued by the California Department of Industrial Relations, which investigated them for 6 months and issued citations and fines, which would not normally include a trial or the assumption of innocence, but they have been appealed and a hearing is pending.
So both of you are right. Can we stop insulting each other now?

Most of the comments on this page are just opinions & experiences, not insults. I think there was only one "judgmental" person. But I agree with Church Goer, let’s all be nice & learn from what others have to say.

Hey...if you want great sushi plus, go to Yuki of Tokyo across the street from "Dad's Locksmith" in Danville. No skimming, great service, great food and a great family owned restaurant...Frank and Jennie.

The owner's of the restaurant may or may not be guilty. It's painful to see people making judgement about them in this forum. Let's not judge them by what we read in the paper. There is nothing to stop a person or persons, or even a law enforcement agency,from making accusations about any of us, whether or not the accusations have a basis in truth. Any of us could one day be accused of a bad thing, and the allegations could appear in the newspaper. I know that I would not want to be judged that way. I don't think that you'd want to be judged that way, either.

I read the article regarding the Danville/Lafayette restaurant owners who were skimming money from their employees. What I don't understand is why you did not mention the "names" of the restaurants! Locals have a right to know the name of a restaurant if there is something fraudulent going on.
Please tell us the names of these restaurants!
Thank you!

Oops! I see the restaurant is Kane Sushi! Now I know! I should have read some of your comments prior to commenting.
To address what others have said here: Yes, we are innocent until proven guilty but it appears they have a very good case against the owners. It will all come out in court.
To address what one writer said regarding Obama: I truly believe we are now living under socialism and very soon communism as long as Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Dodd, Barney Franks, etc. are in command. I think we should boot both parties out and start fresh, hopefully with those who would actually represent the PEOPLE!

I've probably eaten in both restaurants a few 100 times. This pains me because I've seen how bad the employees were treated. I tipped a lot thinking the money would end up in their hands. Will ask the owners their side of the story.

Eat at Sushi Yokohama - downtown Danville! Wonderful food, great portions, friendly owners, and no wait! Have eaten there for years and the service is incredible.

Kane is by far the best Sushi Restaurant in the Bay Area. I've known the owners & the staff for years. Always great service, portions, fresh fish. I noticed a couple of employees were gone one day, but some employees in the food service business will leave for $.25 an hour more or more hours. Many are illegal aliens with false paperwork & as soon as the Social Security Administration catches up with them they are gone. I stand by the owners & support tehm 100%. Sometimes it's not whether your guilty or not but if you have the money to defend yourself & even if your found innocent your reputation is shot, & the loss of business will break you. Shame on you who throw stones. How many so called do honest people in Danville have recently been thrown in jail for ripping elderly people off, the worst crime.

As a tax saving measure let's just do away with due process and the courts, and instead declare as guilty anyone who is accused of wrongdoing. If they weren't guilty they wouldn't have been accused, right? And should it be found that the accusations were wrong, does it really matter that their reputations have already been trashed in forums such as this one?

If Credit card tip : $300.00 owner took 4% =$12 for Credit card fee.
If cash tip : $100.00
Now total tip :$300.00 - $12=$288.00 + $100.00= $388.00
If there have three staff work:staff(1)$97.00
staff(2)$97.00
staff(3)$97.00
owner: $97.00

Frances,
Please try and stay on topic and not wander off as Republican Women Federated are want to do. This was about a Sushi Restaurant and not your opinion on the current administration that I believe won the election.

Who cares what they do with the tips!!!! It's the best and freshest sushi around. It's not the end of the world..........you people act like they killed someone!

Nobody has mentioned that they were also incorrectly paying employees as salaried in an attempt to avoid overtime. Salaried v. hourly has no bearing on overtime. Overtime is impacted by an employee's status as exempt or non-exempt. You can have non-exempt salaried employees. Laws are VERY clear on who is exempt and who is non-exempt.

So, if it's ok to not pay your employees overtime, please let me know. I have openings at my restaurant and would be happy to hire any of you who are willing to work without being paid for overtime.

First off, I dont know why everyone is freaking out. Kane in my opinion has had the worst (and still does) sushi in danville. The imitation crab used in every roll, is essentially miracle whip with a hint of seafood. Gross. The rolls are big, sure. But that is only cause they are filled with mayo slaw and tons of sticky rice that make the roll seem bigger. What does that mean? Means that tons of people are overpaying for Sushi that IS NOT fresh, tasty, or even seafood for that matter. AND to make matters worse, they take their employees tips??? As if they arent making enough money aready by ripping of Danville citizens. I have not eaten their for a while, and I hope many see this as a sign that they are a horrible business. Go to Fish On Fire or any other sushi restraunt before going back to this disgusting establishment.

Hello to all above:

Get a life!

In the time it took to provide negative comments, you all could have done something immeasurably more positive in this world...

Due to repeated violations of our Terms of Use, comments from this poster are automatically removed. Why?