California wage theft lawyer

California Officials Aggressively Fighting Wage Theft Violations

June 9, 2018 | by Nassiri Law

The California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement is attempting to chip away at the state’s ongoing wage theft problem through a series of investigations throughout the state. Officials recently cited seven restaurants in the Bay Area for stolen wages totaling more than $10 million. Over $5 million of that total came from 133 workers at one restaurant, according to an article from SFGate. Additionally, six residential facilities in Los Angeles were issued citations totaling $7 million in recent months, and a Los Angeles restaurant was charged $500,000. In Chino, a fitness and weight loss chain was cited $8.3 million. Violations included counting tips toward minimum hourly wage, withholding overtime payments, and not paying split-shift premiums.

As our employment attorneys can explain, California minimum wage as of Jan. 1, 2018, is $11 per hour for places of employment with more than 25 employees, and $10.50 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees. The state is in the middle of a gradual increase process, with wages going up incrementally each year until they reach $15 per hour in 2023. In many states, restaurant workers have a different minimum hourly wage than other workers that is provided by their employer, so long as their tips bring them up to at least the standard hourly minimum wage. But in California, restaurant owners are not allowed to use tips as a credit toward their employees’ minimum wage. Servers must be compensated with full minimum wage, plus all the tips they earn. If a California employer holds back any tips or applies tips toward their hourly wage, it is considered wage theft. Continue Reading ›

Wage Theft by Wahlburgers Chain Alleged in Employment Lawsuit

September 11, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

A wage theft lawsuit filed by former employees of Wahlburgers, a restaurant chain opened by actor Mark Wahlberg and two of his brothers, alleges the chain illegally withheld wages and tips.

The restaurant chain was founded by the actor and his brothers, Donnie and Paul, five years ago and is at the center of an A&E reality television series. Paul, who is a chef, oversees day-to-day operations at the restaurant.

A class action lawsuit asserts that management at the New York Coney Island branch, which opened its doors last fall, was the site of “rampant wage theft and violations of federal and state employment laws.” Specifically, it is alleged the restaurant paid workers for fewer hours than they worked. Also, when they worked overtime, they were not paid time-and-a-half, as required by federal law. Finally, the restaurant is accused of unlawfully forcing servers to pool their tips to share with non-tipped staffers in the kitchen. The “back of the house” staff were paid regular wages, while “front of the house” servers received the minimum wages allowable for tipped workers (considerably less), without meeting the strict criteria that would enable an employer to apply that tip credit. The workers also assert that following a private event held for the cast of Blue Bloods, starring Donnie Wahlberg, the restaurant wrongly withheld the $3,000 tip left by the cast. Continue Reading ›

Pizza Delivery Drivers, NY Attorney General, Allege Wage Theft

July 10, 2016 | by Nassiri Law

Anyone who has worked in the service industry for any amount of time knows that wage theft is rampant in the restaurant business. But allegedly, national pizza chain Domino’s baked a rigged system right into their payroll software.

The New York Attorney General’s office has filed a lawsuit against Domino’s – both the parent company and the franchise, as joint employers – for systematically cheating workers out of money they were owed. The lawsuit follows a years-long investigation that produced a digital paper trail from each franchised pizza shop straight to the corporate headquarters.

The wage theft lawsuit, which names three franchises plus the corporate parent company, alleges workers were underpaid at least $565,000 at 10 stores throughout New York. This case marks the first time that the attorney general in New York has asserted a fast food corporation is liable as a joint employer for labor violations that occur at franchises. It’s a closely watched case because it could mean greater accountability throughout the industry if the attorney general prevails. Continue Reading ›