A class action lawsuit alleging wage theft has been filed against high-end Mexican restaurant. The filing coincided with a demonstration held outside the restaurant and drew a crowd of about 100 Bay Area restaurant workers, which was organized by the

According to court documents, which were filed on April 1, Flor Crisostomo, Sergio Esquivel and

Maribel Hernandez — three former employees at the Uptown Oakland restaurant, which opened last August — have filed a claim on behalf of themselves and their former colleagues. Among the allegations are that the restaurant failed to pay minimum wages and overtime, provide meal breaks and pay earned wages upon termination.

Named in the lawsuit are owner/partners Christopher Pastena and Michael Iglesias, executive sous chef Adelar Rogers and opening executive chef Christian Irabien, who was recently replaced by Sophina Uong. Irabien is now at Gabriela Cámara’s Hayes Valley restaurant, Cala.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of other wage-theft allegations at Coqueta and Farina, both in San Francisco.

Hector Martinez, of Oakland-based law firm Mallison & Martinez and attorney for the plaintiffs, says that while the lawsuit has been filed, the complaint still needs to be formally served and he is awaiting a response from the defendants. Whether the lawsuit actually goes to trial remains to be seen.

Alleged violations mentioned in the lawsuit include forcing workers to work “off the clock” without compensation; requiring workers to work at least five hours without a full, thirty minute, uninterrupted meal period; and failure to provide workers with accurate itemized wage statements. (Read the whole lawsuit below)

The restaurant refuted the lawsuit’s claims.

“We believe these claims to be completely false. We are a diverse group of employees and owners at Calavera with a history of fair practices and creating a healthy, supportive restaurant culture, and we take pride in being Latino, African-American and female-owned,” the Calavara ownership said in a statement to Inside Scoop. “As longtime Oakland residents and restaurant owners, we have always been 100% committed to supporting our staff and treating every single member of our community fairly. We understand the importance of advocating for fair labor practices and equality, not only in the workplace, but in our communities as well, and the owners at Calavera have a long record of working with the community toward those goals. While we understand the need to bring attention to this important issue, this claim is misguided and untrue.”

While the amount the former employees are seeking is not public, Martinez says that ultimately, they want payment of wages that they, along with their coworkers, are allegedly owed — and to make sure the restaurant does not commit violations in the future.

Read the whole lawsuit: