Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Press Releases
U.S. Department of Labor |
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Tulsa, Okla.-based United States Beef Corp. agrees to pay more than $56,000 in back wages to 759 Arby’s employees after US Labor Department investigation
Managers in Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma affected
TULSA, Okla. -- Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, Tulsa-based United States Beef Corp., doing business as Arby’s, has agreed to pay $56,838 in back wages to 759 current and former hourly paid managers in Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
Investigators found that at 255 Arby’s locations in the five states, bonuses paid to managers were not included in regular rates of pay when overtime was computed. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that covered employees be paid time and one-half their regular rates, including commissions, bonuses and incentive pay, for hours worked beyond 40 per week. Additionally, managers in training at an Arby’s in Wichita, Kan., were required to review training material outside of their work hours and not properly compensated for this time. Under the FLSA, employees must receive at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked.
“We are pleased that this company has agreed to change its practices to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said Cynthia Watson, regional administrator for the department’s Wage and Hour Division in the Southwest. “The Wage and Hour Division actively pursues systemic violations by multi-state employers wherever employees are affected by bad practices.”
Tulsa-based United States Beef Corp. cooperated with the investigation, and payment of the back wages is ongoing.
Fast food restaurants are frequently found by the Wage and Hour Division to be in violation of the FLSA’s minimum and overtime wage provisions. Because historical data indicate that the majority of violations are committed by franchisees rather than by corporate-owned establishments, the division is focusing its enforcement efforts accordingly.
For more information about the FLSA and other federal wage laws, call the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243) or its Oklahoma City District Office at 405-231-4158. Information is also available on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/whd.
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