Gringos Locos employees still waiting on final pay

ORLANDO, Fla. — Gringos Locos, a well-known Central Florida restaurant, closed all four of its locations a few weeks ago, leaving 64 employees suddenly without work and still waiting for full final pay and PTO payouts.

Philip O’Biso, one of the owners, declined to go on camera but said an ongoing legal battle with his co-owners has led to financial distress for the company. He said he is trying to sell equipment as quickly as possible to raise money to finish paying employees.

O’Biso said all employees have received at least 25% of their final paycheck, but there is no timeline for when they will receive full payment. He said he does plan to pay them.

Patrick Montgomery-Webb, a former manager at Gringos Locos, said the closure was abrupt.

“It was sudden, it was too sudden to prepare,” Montgomery-Webb said.

Montgomery-Webb worked at Gringos Locos for two-and-a-half years. He said he was able to find another job but had to take a pay cut.

“With my wife and I, it has been day by day, week by week,” Montgomery-Webb said. “We have a GoFundMe, just to try to make ends meet.”

He said employees have been communicating with one another and trying to help each other through the situation.

“How many families are one paycheck away from catastrophe? And 60 families have just hit that,” Montgomery-Webb said.

Jennifer Englert, managing partner at Orlando Law Group, said employees who are not paid should take several steps, starting with reporting unpaid wages to law enforcement.

“To not pay employees is a violation of several different laws, federal and state,” Englert said.

Englert said employees should also contact their county’s labor board to report the issue.

“There often are a bunch of funds that people aren’t aware of, but you certainly won’t get it if you don’t make those reports to the authorities,” Englert said.

She said workers should also file for unemployment and seek help with finding another job. CareerSource Central Florida said it often works with employees affected by small-business closures and can help with resume writing, new certifications and job searches.

“When it comes to smaller businesses, they may not know they are ready to close, so therefore we can’t engage them nearly as early,” said Gustavo Henriquez with CareerSource Central Florida. “So their need becomes much more dire and much more immediate.”

O’Biso said managers were told only a day or two before the closures. Montgomery-Webb called the situation “very unprofessional” and said employees are still looking for answers as they wait to be paid in full.