Westchester County, New York, residents are well aware of the popularity of McDonald’s. Management of the largest fast-food restaurant has stated that the best people in the world work at McDonalds, as employees serve nearly 70 million people per day. Despite that praise, employees at some New York City locations were unhappy about its labor practices.
Recently, wage-and-hour disputes filed by McDonald’s NYC employees were settled in favor of the employees. According to the report, a McDonald’s multiple franchise owner agreed to pay 1,600 current and former employees $500,000 in back compensation for overtime, expense reimbursement and unfair payroll deductions. Based on a statement published on New York State Attorney General’s website, the franchise owner broke the labor law by failing to cover weekly costs for uniform cleaning, deducting cash register shortfalls from employee wages and neglecting to pay overtime for nearly six years.
The case’s outcome serves as an important victory for ongoing litigation accusing fast-food restaurants of employment law violations, said the director of Fast Food Forward, a group that presses for worker rights. He said that he had experienced similar work environments at fast-food restaurants for almost two years. Employees worked off the clock or had to reimburse the company when the cash register count failed to balance, grievances similar to this group of McDonalds workers.
The overwhelming majority of New Yorkers work to earn a living. Despite low wages, unsafe working conditions or unfair labor practices, employees continue to work these jobs because they must provide for their families.
Unfortunately, some employers take advantage by refusing to give diligent workers what they earned, such as payment for all hours worked, a fair hourly wage and other benefits. Fortunately, New York employees suffering from unfair labor practices have a legal option and hardworking Westchester County legal professionals to help them receive reasonable compensation for work done.
Source: Aljazeera America, “NYC McDonald’s Restaurants Settle Workers’ Class-Action Lawsuit,” Lisa De Bode, Mar. 19, 2014
