A recent investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found an employer failed to pay workers – including in Burien – the full amount of their earnings due to violations of the minimum wage, overtime and tip pool requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Investigators determined that JRKT Enterprises LLC and owner Taran Singh, operator of four Subway restaurants under different corporate names in Burien, Renton, SeaTac and Tukwila failed to pay two employees for time spent in required job training and failed to combine hours between four establishments for overtime pay calculation purposes. By doing so, the employer failed to pay workers overtime hours for hours over 40 in a workweek.
The employer also allowed managers to take part in a tip pool, a practice the law forbids.
The DOL said the following back wages were recovered:
- $37,476 in unpaid wages and tips for 59 employees
- $37,476 in liquidated damages for 59 employees
- $5,924 in civil money penalties
“Food service workers are common victims of labor violations by unscrupulous employers that disrespect the law and their workers, while jeopardizing their reputations, franchise agreements and, in this case, the Subway brand,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Thomas Silva in Seattle. “We encourage employers in this industry to review their pay practices and avoid costly consequences.”
The FLSA requires that most employees in the U.S. be paid at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay at not less than time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours over 40 in a workweek. Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division and workers’ rights, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division.
Employers and workers can call division staff confidentially with questions, regardless of where they are from, and the department can speak with callers confidentially in more than 200 languages through the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Download the agency’s new, free Timesheet App for android devices, available in English and Spanish, to help track work hours and pay.
