Tag Archives: Minimum Wage

Pumped for Compensation

Guilty of underserving?

This is the second time in recent months that restaurant owners, Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd, were named in a lawsuit concerning unpaid wages.  In the first most recent lawsuit, filed in January, the owners were accused by one of their former employees, Adam Pierce Antoine, for adjusting time records to show less time worked.  The plaintiff also claims that if employees worked any overtime hours per day or more than 40 hours in a week, they were not lawfully compensated. At the end of July, both Vanderpump and Todd were named in a new lawsuit of a similar nature. This class action was filed by former hostess, Olivia Hanson, who alleges that herself and other employees were inadequately compensated for overtime worked and were not allotted appropriate breaks.  While the two lawsuits are still ongoing, the claims mentioned in each are fairly comparable. Continue reading →

Fashion Interns Put Their Foot Down on Unfair Labor Practices

Unpaid internships – not a fashion trend

Young college students often break into the professional working world by participating in internships with companies that will provide them with enriching experiences. Depending on the industry, a lot of the internships are unpaid, however, the internships typically focus on educational and vocational advancement for the students. The purpose of the internships is to leave the students feeling confident that they have made first steps into the industry or career of their choice. Read more

Subway Franchise Facing Lawsuit for Unpaid Overtime

A toasted lawsuit

A former Subway employee has filed a lawsuit in Washington D.C. against his former employer for unpaid overtime wages. Erwin Zambrano Moya claims that his employer created fictional workers and put some of his hours worked under these “other employees” to avoid paying the additional overtime wages. ” According to the complaint, the owner accomplished this, in part, by paying Moya as if he were multiple workers, thereby keeping the real Moya under 40 hours each week”. Moya stated that he worked up to 70 hours per week, and should have been paid time and a half for 30 of those hours worked. Half of the hours worked were recorded under Moya, and half under another fictional employee name.

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Not Just Another Hot Coffee Lawsuit

Not just hot coffee this time…

In the past, whenever McDonald’s is involved in a lawsuit, we usually expect it to be because of another victim of their hot coffee. Not this time, “McDonald’s workers in three states filed lawsuits against the fast-food chain this week, saying the company engages in a variety of practices to avoid paying them what they’re owed”. The states involved are California, Michigan, and New York; lawyers targeted McDonald’s because it is an industry leader. The suit mentions a variety of labor violations, which could potentially affect 30,000 employees. The lawsuit seeks back pay and other damages for the affected parties. Read More

Corporate Executives Stand Tall On Worker’s Shoulders

Show me the money!

Despite the current upswing in revenue, large American corporations have decided to keep employee wages uncomfortably low while corporate profits increase.  Of the 12 companies that are paying their American employees the least, 7 are in the restaurant industry.  These include, McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Starbucks, Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Red Lobster), Dine Equity (Applebee’s, IHOP), and Yum! Brands (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC).  These companies are within the confides of the law with the nation’s minimum wage regulations, but these employees are getting less bang for their buck than they should.  The current minimum wage is worth 30% less in terms of purchasing power than it was in 1968.  The other offenders of this immoral salary situation are national retail giants like Walmart, Target, and Sears.  Being compared to Walmart is rarely a good thing.  In this scenario Walmart is an especially bad company, since it is pretty well known that the Walmart CEO, Mike Duke, makes more in one hour than one of his employees makes in an entire year.

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