Food Gun Toting Chefs

Ox Chef Greg Denton tops a dish with black trumpet and bacon vinaigrette.

(Faith Cathcart/The Oregonian/File photo)

A former kitchen employee at Ox has filed a $225,000 lawsuit against the Northeast Portland restaurant, claiming he was fired after he complained about being forced to work off the clock before and after his shifts.

Loki Cuthbert began working as a cook in mid-September 2013 at the Argentine-inspired restaurant, which critics consistently rank among the best restaurants in Portland and was named 2013 Restaurant of the Year by The Oregonian.

Cuthbert’s shift officially began at 2 p.m., which is when he clocked in, the lawsuit states. But the restaurant required him or “knowingly permitted him” to work off the clock starting about 1 p.m., the suit alleges.

The same was true for most of the rest of the kitchen staff, the suit claims.

“(Cuthbert) and co-workers were also required to clock off at the end of their scheduled shift and continue working off the clock for an additional 30 minutes,” the suit claims.

Cuthbert’s suit also says he was required to work during unpaid lunch breaks, and he often only had 10 minutes to eat.

Kurt Huffman, part-owner of Ox, said Wednesday that he couldn't talk about specifics of the lawsuit because the litigation is pending. But he noted the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries investigated a complaint Cuthbert filed with the state. The agency found no "substantial evidence" of violations, according to a BOLI spokesman.

BOLI, however, did send Ox a warning letter, reminding the restaurant’s managers of the law. Huffman said -- and BOLI’s spokesman confirmed -- that such reminders can be sent to any business that has had a complaint filed against it, whether the business was found in violation or not.

Huffman said he and partners in his restaurant group -- ChefStable, which also includes Lardo, Gruner and St. Jack -- stress that all of their kitchens must comply with hourly wage laws. Huffman said it's the first time a ChefStable restaurant has been sued for an alleged violation.

Ox is at 2225 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

“These are very serious issues, and it’s easy especially in our industry to let people with enthusiasm -- (who want) to show how motivated they are and advance in the cooking world -- to show up early,” Huffman said.

“You show up early and you stay late and you try extra hard, but unfortunately ... we can’t let that happen,” Huffman said. “We can’t even let chefs show up five minutes early to sharpen their knives.”

According to Cuthbert's lawsuit, on Dec. 18, 2013, he complained to part-owner and chef Greg Denton, but his complaints were met with an unsympathetic reception.

The suit states that he took a full 30-minute lunch and his breaks off premises one day, but in response, restaurant management forced him to clock out an hour early that day.

He also told his supervisor he wouldn’t prepare his prep list off-the-clock anymore, the suit states. And when he returned to work for his next scheduled shift, on Dec. 20, 2013, Cuthbert learned he was fired, the suit states.

The suit seeks $75,000 in past wages and benefits, and $150,000 in noneconomic damages for “emotional and mental harm.”

The suit was filed last week in Multnomah County Circuit Court and lists Ox LLC and Denton as defendants.

Portland attorney Craig Crispin and Shelley D. Russell are representing Cuthbert.

-- Aimee Green