Labor Dept Targets Fast Food Franchises On Wages

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has launched an enforcement initiative on the West Coast aimed at ensuring workers at fast food establishments are being paid the proper minimum wage and receiving overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours per week.

Investigations completed in the last five quarters nationwide have resulted in fast food employers paying more than $6.7 million in back wages owed to nearly 18,000 employees.

Investigators will continue to look at establishments in California, Oregon and Washington, ensuring compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act’s wage and recordkeeping practices.

In addition to conducting investigations, WHD officials are organizing roundtable meetings with local industry stakeholders, holding training sessions with groups of restaurant franchise owners on FLSA compliance and meeting one-on-one with various franchisors.

A WHD statement said these violations are common in the fast food industry:

Failure to pay workers for all hours worked, typically time spent either before or after a scheduled shift.
Deductions from pay that result in minimum wage and overtime violations.
Unlawfully categorizing some salaried workers as exempt from overtime.
Misclassifying delivery drivers as independent contractors, instead of employees
Requiring minors to work in jobs or at times prohibited by child labor laws.

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