US Department of Labor recovers $608K in wages, liquidated damages after Mountain Mike’s Pizza restaurants’ franchisee denied employees overtime

SAN JOSE, CA – Denying their staff time beyond regulation pay when required has had pricey penalties for the operators of six northern California pizza franchise places from whom the U.S. Division of Labor has recovered a complete of $608,272 in again wages and liquidated damages for 33 staff.

Investigators with the division’s Wage and Hour Division decided Mountain Mike’s Pizza places in Pittsburg, Hercules, Pinole, Fairfield, Martinez and Danville – operated by Sumeet Singh and Mandeep Saini – did not pay correct time beyond regulation to the affected staff. The division discovered the employers failed to mix hours staff labored at a number of places, resulting in further time beyond regulation violations of the Honest Labor Requirements Act.

Division investigators additionally discovered the employer allowed minor-aged staff to ship pizzas and work outdoors of the hours allowed by federal youngster labor legal guidelines. Singh and Saini paid $13,058 in penalties to deal with the kid labor violations. 

“Sumeet Singh and Mandeep Saini required their staff to work extraordinarily lengthy hours however ignored their obligations to pay time beyond regulation, and to guard the well-being minor-aged staff,” stated Wage and Hour Division District Director Susana Blanco in San Jose, California. “Employers whose pay practices violate the regulation face pricey reimbursement of wages and damages. They could additionally discover it harder to retain or recruit staff than their opponents whose actions present they respect staff’ rights and pay them their full wages.”

Based in 1978, Mountain Mike’s Pizza is a franchise system with greater than 200 franchised places in California, Oregon, Nevada and Utah.

In fiscal years 2020 and 2021, the Wage and Hour Division’s Western area discovered youngster labor violations in additional than 163 meals service employers investigated, leading to greater than $760,000 in penalties.

As historic shifts within the nation’s workforce proceed, employers are discovering it increasingly more tough to retain and recruit folks with the wages they provide. The Bureau of Labor Statistics studies that 958,000 meals and lodging companies staff left their positions in December 2021.

In fiscal 12 months 2021, the Wage and Hour Division performed 4,237 investigations within the meals service business, recovering $34.7 million in again wages for greater than 29,000 staff nationwide.

Study extra concerning the division, together with its search software if you’re owed again wages collected by the division. For confidential compliance help about tips on how to adjust to the regulation, name the company’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Assist guarantee hours labored and pay are correct by downloading the division’s Android Timesheet App at no cost.