LANSING, Mich. — Being a new resident in Michigan from Iraq, Noor Ahmed said she feels alone, lost and betrayed. That's because she said she worked at Zaytoon in Lansing for five months, without pay.
“It’s just hard right now,” she said.
But Noor wasn’t the only one alleging no pay from Zaytoon. Her three siblings also said they weren’t paid, and they said when they went to the owner, nothing was done about it.
“He just kept making excuses, saying 'I’m sick or I will have the money to you soon,' but he never did,” said Noor’s sister Aya.
Noor said the owner, Samy Aburashed, gave her three checks but all of them bounced at the bank.
“I went to the bank, and at first, they cashed it, but weeks later they told me the check was bad and that I have to pay the money back,” she said.
All four siblings filed wage and benefit complaints with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, and combined, they said the restaurant owes them over $12,000.
“It’s just not true,” Aburashed said.
We talked to Aburashed, who said that was the first time he heard about those allegations, and he also instantly denied them.
“If I weren’t paying people, how do I keep so many employees,” he said.
Noor said this experience has been hard on her whole family, but they’re using it as motivation to reach their goal of starting their own business, an Arabic bakery in Lansing.
