COMP NEWS – An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found that several Wing Stop franchise locations in Mississippi were violating numerous pay practice laws. The Department of Labor subsequently recovered over $51k in illegal wage deductions and allocated them back to the targeted employees.

The operator of five Wing Stop franchise locations in Mississippi who made employees pay for their uniforms, safety training, background checks and cash register shortages – and violated child labor regulations – has been held accountable by the U.S. Department of Labor, and paid $114,427 in back wages, liquidated damages and civil penalties.

The investigation led to the recovery of $51,674 in back wages and liquidated damages for 244 workers, and an assessment of $62,753 in civil money penalties.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigation into the pay practices of Boss Wings Enterprises LLC in Southaven discovered several violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, including the following:

• Minimum wage violations when paycheck deductions for uniforms and cash register shortages caused some employees’ average hourly rates to fall below the $7.25 federal minimum wage.
• Overtime violations when the employer’s deductions for safety training and background checks illegally decreased the rate-of-pay in weeks when workers earned overtime, and led Boss Wings to pay overtime at rates lower than federal law requires.
• Recordkeeping violations for failing to maintain a record of employee hours worked and wage deductions.’

Additionally, the Department of Labor found that the investigated Wing Stop locations were violating child labor laws.

In addition to the wage violations, division investigators learned that Boss Wings allowed a 15-year-old employee to work past 10 p.m. several times in June 2021, a violation of FLSA child labor work hours standards. Standards prohibit 14- and 15-year-olds from working before 7 a.m., or after 7 p.m. from June 1, through Labor Day.

To date, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor has recovered nearly $35 million in wage theft from restaurant workers.

In fiscal year 2021, the Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $34.7 million for more than 29,000 workers in the food service industry. In 2022, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports near record numbers of job openings and workers in the accommodations and food services industry quitting their jobs. 

“Employers who do not respect their workers’ rights will likely struggle to retain and recruit the people they need to remain competitive, as workers look for opportunities with employers that do,” Hall added.

To read more about the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wing Stop investigation, click here.

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