Unite Here Local 1 has taken its fight over the sudden 2023 shutdown of the Signature Room back to court, filing a new lawsuit this week to try to hold the restaurant’s former owners responsible for roughly $1.5 million in unpaid wages and benefits. The move comes more than two years after the iconic restaurant on the 95th floor of the former John Hancock Center abruptly closed in September 2023, and retired employees and the union say the money represents wages and benefits they were owed when the business shut down without proper notice.
The union filed the suit on Friday, aiming to make the former owners liable for paying the $1.5 million, according to ABC7 Chicago. The outlet reported that it had reached out to the owners for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
The judge previously ordered $1.5 million
The $1.5 million figure lines up with a March 2024 federal ruling that ordered Infusion Management Group, the operator of the Signature Room, to pay about $1.52 million in back pay and benefits after finding the company failed to give required notice, according to CBS Chicago. That judgment was divided among roughly 140 former employees represented by the union.
Union's claim and earlier filings
UNITE HERE Local 1 first sued the operator in October 2023, saying 132 employees learned of the closure the same morning the restaurant shut its doors and that the company violated the WARN Act, according to the union’s earlier statement. "We will pursue every avenue to ensure Signature Room workers see justice served," Local 1 President Karen Kent said in the union release. UNITE HERE Local 1 outlined the complaint and the relief it sought for workers.
Legal basis
The union’s claims rest on the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, which generally requires employers to give 60 days’ written notice of a plant closing or mass layoff or else face liability for back pay and benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The law is enforced through civil actions in federal court, where judges can order employers to compensate workers for missed notice periods.
What comes next
The Signature Room was operated by Richard (Rick) Roman and Nick Pyknis through Infusion Management Group, and the restaurant occupied the 95th and 96th floors at 875 N. Michigan Ave., Eater Chicago reported. With the new complaint, union attorneys say they intend to press to collect on any judgment awarded to workers; ABC7 Chicago reported that the station had not yet heard back from the owners.
