Tag: wage and hour

NAIL SALON WORKERS FILED A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST ENVY NAILS FOR FAILURE TO PAY MINIMUM WAGE AND SPYING

Manicurists have filed a class action complaint again Anna Do, owner of Envy Salon, in a Manhattan Federal Court.  Do is the owner of more than 50 nail salons in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Plaintiffs allege that Do fails to pay her employees less than minimum wage and sometimes as little as $5.00 per day.  They are paid off the books, and even with tips, Plaintiffs claim that they are paid less than what is required under the law.  Plaintiffs state that most of the workers at Envy Salon have recently arrived from Mexico and Ecuador and are taken advantage of by Do.  When visited by government inspectors, Do also instructs the workers to falsely identify themselves as independent contractors, as opposed to employees.  These practices are common in the manicure and salon industry because the owners can take advantage of recent immigrants and non-English speaking employees.

This firm will continue to monitor further developments in this case.

DOMINO’S PIZZA FINED BY ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR IMPROPER PAY PRACTICES

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman recently announced a $448,000 settlement with six Domino’s pizza franchisees operating in New York.  The business owners paid workers less than the $5.65 per hour tipped minimum wage and failed to pay adequate overtime, thereby violating wage and hour laws.  Specifically, delivery drivers were inadequately paid for their work, some receiving only $5.00 per hour, and workers who used their cars to deliver pizza were not reimbursed for their expenses.

  Moreover, employees were shifted from one store to another just before they were to reach 40 hours worked, and a manual override or a system flaw in the timekeeping system prevented an accurate calculation of the overtime worked. The settlement money will be dispersed among approximately 750 employees.

The Attorney General is also investigating Papa John’s franchisees.

CHICKIE’S AND PETE’S TO PAY $6.8 MILLION FOR VIOLATING WAGE AND HOUR LAWS

Chickie’s and Pete’s, a prominent sports bar with 9 locations throughout New Jersey and Philadelphia, has recently agreed to pay $6.8 million in back wages and damages for taking tips from bartenders and waiters and for violating federal minimum wage and overtime laws.  The U.S. Department of Labor conducted a year long investigation and found that Chickie’s and Pete’s illegally underpaid and took tips from 1,159 servers and improperly retained 60% of the monies from the staff members’ tip pool, which was known as “Pete’s Tax.” 

 Separately, Chickie’s and Pete’s also announced that it agreed to pay an additional $1.68 million to settle a wage and hour claim commenced by 90 current and former employees.  As part of the settlement, Chickie’s and Pete’s also agreed to train all employees regarding their rights under the wage law and operation of tip pools and agreed to compliance monitoring for 18 months. 

The Department of Labor has described this case as one of the largest cases ever brought against an employer for violating tip-credit laws.