CHICAGO — The city of Chicago is opening an investigation into business practices at Parlor Pizza.
Two city departments are looking into whether the restaurant group violated labor and discrimination ordinances.
The investigation comes after allegations that Pizza Parlor did not pay employees for overtime. Allegations also brought against the restaurant suggest Pizza Parlor discriminated against customers because of their race.
Parlor Pizza released a statement saying they firmly refute the allegations and will cooperate with any investigation:
We firmly dispute these serious allegations and the blatantly false picture being painted of our restaurants, how we operate them and how we treat our valued employees and customers.
We disavow racism and any discriminatory behavior at all Parlor locations and would immediately terminate any employee who acted in such a despicable way.
Respect, dignity and professionalism are the bedrocks of our workplace policies and culture. This is more than a business to us – we care deeply about our hundreds of employees, who are hard-working, dedicated and as diverse as the customers we are proud to serve.
We will fully cooperate with any government agency reviewing our business operations and we are confident that a fact-finding process will disprove the allegations.
It’s not the only trouble the restaurant group is facing. Last month, their three locations were raided by police who said they were assisting an Illinois Department of Revenue investigation.