Judge rules in favor of backpay for Signature Room employees months after abrupt closure

Angelica Sanchez
·2 min read
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CHICAGO — It’s a sweet taste of victory.

Former Signature Room employees told WGN News that they have been experiencing hardships since being abruptly fired six months ago. But a judgment on Thursday left many optimistic and one step closer to compensation.

UNITE HERE Local 1 president Karen Kent on Thursday called the announcement an important step forward in the journey for justice for former Signature Room workers.

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“The last six months have been difficult for us all,” said Bob Sorenson, who spent 25 years as a server at the now-closed Chicago restaurant.

UNITE HERE Local 1 reps said a federal judge is ordering the operators of the former restaurant to pay just over $1.5 million in backpay to terminated employees, finding the owners liable for violating the ‘WARN Act‘ which provides employees advance notice of mass layoffs.

“This judgment comes after UNITE HERE Local 1 filed in October of 2023 on behalf of roughly 140 union workers,” Kent said.

Signature Room closed its doors back in September, devastating longtime workers like Irene Luna. For Sorenson, the abrupt closing denied him and many others a chance to say goodbye.

“We also have a real sense of family,” Sorenson said. “The coworkers, my colleagues, and I, together, we worked in teams.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Chicago’s iconic Signature Room closes abruptly

But employees learned they were out of a job by reading a sign posted on a door of the John Hancock building.

“We all worked the night before. There was no sign or warning that anything was happening,” Sorenson said.

The union vows to hold the Signature Room owners accountable to the judge’s order and deliver to employees what they are owed.

“We’re relentless and confident we are going to get the $1.5 million,” Kent said.

Efforts to reach the owners of the Signature Room, Infusion Management Group, for comment were unsuccessful.

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