A Nepalese student short-changed thousands of dollars by her Melbourne employer was told to stay silent or have her working visa cancelled.
The 27-year-old international student told the Fair Work Ombudsman she was paid a flat rate of $12 an hour between September 2013 and March 2015 despite being entitled to a much higher rate, in addition to weekends and public holiday penalties.
She said her employer at the takeaway shop Health Express - run by Mr Herscu, the sole director of Rapid City Pty Ltd - at DFO South Wharf told her she would be paid less because she was "not an Aussie".
"When I came for the interview, he said that I will give you the job, but as you are not an Aussie, I will be paying you a lesser amount," she told Fair Work investigators.
Her Australian colleagues were being paid more than $20 for the same work, she said.
She is one of two international students to lodge a complaint against Health Express.
Another woman, aged 31, from India, said she was short-changed more than $27,000 between June 2010 and March 2015.
Mr Herscu has since agreed to pay back $50,000 to the two women.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said employers "simply cannot undercut the minimum lawful entitlement of their employees based on what they think the job may be worth".
