Board upholds DPH revocation of Panchita's No.3 permit after wage-theft enforcement referrals

The San Francisco Board of Appeals on April 18 upheld the Department of Public Health's revocation of Panchita's No. 3 restaurant's permit (3115 20 Second St.), based on repeated failures by the owner to provide payroll and wage documentation and to satisfy penalties from labor-enforcement referrals. The Board voted 5-0 to deny the owner's appeal and sustain the DPH order.

Karen Yoo of DPH described a multi-agency enforcement history: referrals and audit requests from the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE), failure by the owner to appear at required hearings, penalties assessed by OLSE, and a California Department of Industrial Relations inspection that identified unpaid wages and a lack of workers' compensation insurance. That state inspection resulted in a stop-work citation.

During the hearing, workers and advocates told the board they had not received wages they were owed; OLSE reported four employees are owed approximately $24,000 in back pay and wage claims. DPH said the owner was given multiple opportunities to comply and to present documentation; the department's director previously revoked the permit after the owner failed to appear and later continued operating after notice and required closures, prompting further enforcement.

The owner, Johnny Maranko, asked for a continuance and argued the business was preparing paperwork and seeking remedies; DPH opposed additional delay, saying the owner had adequate time since February to produce the records. The board denied the continuance and ultimately voted to sustain DPH's revocation order on the grounds stated in the DPH determination.

The decision leaves open separate civil or criminal remedies for unpaid wages and any state enforcement actions. The board's action was procedural and administrative: it sustained the DPH determination that the permit be revoked for noncompliance with permit conditions tied to labor-law enforcement referrals.