A well-known fish and chips restaurant in Steveston is being sued by a restaurant manager who claims she was wrongfully dismissed.
Renee Sanzalone, restaurant manager at Dave’s Fish and Chips on Moncton Street, is seeking compensation after her health benefits were terminated, which she claims amounted to wrongful dismissal, according to a lawsuit filed at the Vancouver Supreme Court on Nov. 2.
Sanzalone began working at Dave’s as a server in 1995 and became the restaurant manager in 2019. By the time she was laid off, she had worked at the restaurant for around 28 years.
Dave’s is owned and operated by Ping Zhang.
According to the lawsuit, Sanzalone took a medical leave of absence from work in January 2023 and received a text in March that Dave’s was terminating her health benefits in April.
She argued the health benefits were a “significant and substantial part” of her employment contract and she was allowed to “reject the changes and consider herself to be wrongfully dismissed” because Dave’s made the change without her consent.
Sanzalone also claimed she was expected “without notice” in October 2022 to address the restaurant’s payroll and accounts payable issues even though Dave's had a bookkeeper prior to the month and it was not part of her job.
The lawsuit claims Sanzalone was entitled to payment in lieu of eight weeks’ notice under the Employment Standards Act.
Under common law, Sanzalone claims she is entitled to payment for 24 months’ notice considering factors including her age, length of service, skills and qualifications, availability of similar employment and the present economic climate.
She claims her compensation package should have included a base annual salary of $69,719.40 per annum, three weeks’ vacation per annum and any out-of-pocket expenses.
“Despite (Dave’s) obligations with respect to notice of dismissal or pay in lieu thereof, it failed to provide even the minimum amounts required by the Employment Standards Act,” Sanzalone claims.
She also claimed, while she was on medical leave, the restaurant told her she would be “personally responsible” for losses if it were to close due to staffing shortages, which caused her “significant stress and an exacerbation of her disabilities.”
Dave’s Fish and Chips has 21 days after it’s served with the lawsuit to respond to Sanzalone’s claims.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
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