OPINION: Who important besides Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga visit Mystic restaurants?

A recent column about the posh new Mystic restaurant PEARL, Provisions + Tipples passing a new price threshold in town, the $20 cocktail, led to my getting some tips about the owners allegedly not paying wages to employees.Indeed, after checking with the state Department of Labor, it turns out two official complaints have been filed.One was from a short-term hire who complained of not being paid for a nine-and-a-half hour training shift in July, making "multiple attempts to get paid with no success," according to the complaint filed with the labor department.A second was from an employee who claimed to have worked 7.5 hours without receiving pay or tips, and numerous attempts to collect were unsuccessful, according to the complaint.A third former employee told me she also plans to file a complaint with the state, seeking more than $400 she says she is owed.PEARL owner Moses Laboy, after I left messages with him about the wages complaints, responded with a long email "unequivocally" denying anyone has not been paid."On the occasions where payroll issues arose, they were promptly corrected," he wrote. "Corrections went as far as firing the payroll company ADP for their incompetence on this project."Laboy said the restaurant's weekly payroll consistently exceeds $20,000 and that they pay at rates competitive with New York City rather than local Connecticut rates."We ensure that our entire staff is properly fed by us at the start of each shift, and that everyone enjoys a proper work/life balance," he wrote. "This is a point of pride for us and speaks to our commitment to our employees' well-being and the community." Laboy also denied reports I got from two employees that the restaurant policy is to investigate customer's backgrounds, with Google, based on their phone numbers, emails and addresses, and seat more important people in prominent places in the restaurant.Laboy made fun in his email of this suggestion, saying it is simply untrue that the restaurant researches guests and favors important diners, "with the exception of Taylor Swift, the Kardashians and Lady Gaga" making weekly visits to Mystic and PEARL.He has a point. It's true that it's hard to imagine who in eastern Connecticut might turn up in reservations research as prominent enough to get special seating at a Mystic restaurant.Employees told me it was people like other Mystic restaurant owners and prominent businesspeople like realtors, identified through social media.Still, Laboy, who hails from a hospitality background in New York City, does seem to be trying to push the envelope of the high end restaurant experience in Mystic, with flourishes like $20 cocktails, what he calls "luxury in a glass."He also complained in his email to me of what he apparently sees as local bias of his New York City background."The blatant and persistent "NYC folk" xenophobia amongst a small group of you has been exhausting," he wrote.It's true. I am a Connecticut rube, although I have been to New York a few times.My unexpected brush with the curious new luxury-aspiring Mystic restaurant, which began even before it opened, when I heard on the grapevine about plans for $20 cocktails, has now given me new insight, from some poking around, into how common it is for employers to be accused of not paying workers.A spokesman for the Department of Labor, while noting that the complaints filed against PEARL and other employers are only allegations that must be investigated, said there is a large backlog of claims to be reviewed.There is also a shortage of investigators, with just 21 now tasked with handling about 2,000 cases, according to the department.This fiscal year, the department's Wage and Workplace Standards Division has closed 2,521 cases and recovered $2.4 million in back wages.Cases with a "criminal element" are referred to the Chief State's Attorney, the department said.I'm sorry it's necessary for the state to get involved in cases where employees believe they have been deprived of the most basic of rights, a paycheck, but I'm very glad they are there to investigate.This is the opinion of David Collins.d.collins@theday.com