What you should know
- Four fast food franchises in New York City, between those two Burger King and a McDonald’s, will have to pay a total of $ 293,928 in restitution to 152 workers, $ 67,712 in civil penalties and commit to comply with the law in more than 60 restaurants in fast food located in New York City.
- The franchises involved are a Burger King in Manhattan, a Burger King in Brooklyn, a McDonald’s in Manhattan, and a Papa John’s in Brooklyn.
- To file a complaint with OLPS visit this page. Likewise, you can contact 311 (212-NEW-YORK outside of New York City) and request the “Fair Work Week Law or Fair Workweek Law”.
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NEW YORK – In the midst of the economic crisis brought on by the pandemic, 152 fast food restaurant workers will receive money after they managed to win a lawsuit against their workplaces for violating labor laws.
This was announced on Monday by the commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), Lorelei Salas, after resolving violations of the labor law of four franchises against their workers .
These fast food restaurants in New York City will have to pay a total of $ 293,928 in restitution to 152 workers, $ 67,712 in civil penalties, and commit to law enforcement at more than 60 fast food restaurants located in New York City.
“Fair Workweek, or a Fair Work Week, was created to protect fast-food restaurant and retail employees from income instability and schedule abuses. We are pleased to give money to fast food restaurant workers during these difficult times and we will make sure their employers comply in the future, ”said DCWP Commissioner Lorelei Salas. “We thank the workers for coming forward with courage to report violations that affect hundreds of workers.”
DCWP investigations revealed that these fast food franchises violated the law by failing to provide hours to employees two weeks in advance, failing to require written consent from employees when adding overtime to their schedules, failing to pay employees required bonuses when schedules were changed, failure to offer available shifts to current employees prior to hiring new employees, and failure to provide updated good faith written estimates.
Additionally, DCWP found sick leave and safety violations at some of the restaurants, including failure to authorize the use of sick leave and non-compliance with safety and sick leave policies.
The agreement requires the following fast food franchises to make the following payments:
- Burger King located at 130 West 125th Street en Manhattan: $ 90,000 in restitution to 50 workers and $ 10,240 in civil penalties.
- Burger King located at 1727 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn: $ 62,900.00 in restitution to 44 workers and $ 23,000 in civil penalties.
- McDonald’s del 3809 Broadway en Manhattan: $ 40,000 in worker restitution and $ 17,500 in civil penalties.
- Papa John’s at 601 Rogers Avenue in Brooklyn and 529 Stanley Avenue in Brooklyn): $ 101,028 in restitution to 57 workers and $ 16,972 in civil penalties.
In addition to restitution and penalties, the agreements require franchisees to comply with Fair Work Week and Safe and Sick Leave laws in the future, not only at the four franchisees involved but at more than 60 restaurants in the City of New York.
Under the Fair Work Week Act, fast food employers in New York City must:
- Give workers regular and predictable work hours, with two weeks’ notice of their work schedules.
- $ 10- $ 75 premium payment for schedule changes and the opportunity to work new shifts that become available.
- Fast food employers also cannot schedule workers for a morning shift the day after a night shift unless the workers give their written consent and are paid a $ 100 premium for working the shift.
- Similarly, fast food employers must obtain written consent from workers before adding time to their work schedules less than two weeks in advance and cannot penalize them for refusing to work.
- Under the Act, retail employers must also give workers advance notice of work hours and cannot schedule workers for on-call shifts or change workers’ schedules without prior notice.
Since the law went into effect three years ago, the DCWP has received more than 360 complaints, closed 160 investigations and obtained resolutions requiring more than $ 2,084,000 in combined fines and restitution for 3,570 workers.
To file a complaint with OLPS visit this page. Likewise, you can contact 311 (212-NEW-YORK outside of New York City) and request the “Fair Work Week Law or Fair Workweek Law”. OLPS will conduct the investigation and maintain the confidentiality of identity unless disclosure is necessary to complete an investigation or required by law.
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