US Department of Labor recovers $196K after investigators found owners, managers of Subway restaurants in Washington illegally pocketed tips

Summary:

Vesper: The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division conducted an investigation into several Subway restaurants under common ownership and found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The investigation revealed that owners and managers participated in employees' tip pools, depriving 100 employees of tips and overtime wages. The investigation also found that the employer manually adjusted time sheets to reduce hours worked below 40 hours per week and failed to combine hours worked at multiple locations. As a result, back wages and overtime wages totaling $98,074 were recovered for the employees, along with $22,017 in civil money penalties for the willful nature of the violations.