LGBTQ-owned Andersonville/Wicker Park bakery Lost Larson paid more than $2,000 last month to a former employee after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) supported her claim that she was fired for joining colleagues to address workplace concerns, The Chicago Tribune reported.
Lucy Honold—who worked at Lost Larson from November 2020 until being fired Aug. 2, 2021—filed a charge with the NLRB last November. An NLRB investigation found merit to her claim. Honold told the Tribune that Lost Larson owner Bobby Schaffer fired her by email while she was on unpaid vacation last summer after she and other employees raised concerns about issues that included pay and COVID-19 safety.
In an email, Schaffer said, "It's our position that the company complied with the law and determined to enter into a settlement as the most expedient way to concentrate on the business."
Lost Larson was also required to post notices about the settlement at its two locations, in Andersonville and Wicker Park, and to email details to anyone who has worked at the bakery and cafe since Honold's firing.
Siblings and initial co-owners Bree and Bobby Schaffer identify, respectively, as lesbian and gay, Windy City Times noted in a 2020 profile of Lost Larson. Bree has since left, and is director of operations and programming at Guild Row, according to her LinkedIn profile.
The full article is at www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct-food-lost-larson-chicago-worker-backpay-20220421-y2ngdg4h6rcs3pzssuagqxe42q-story.html .
