Department of Labor recovers $43K in back wages, damages from Paris Baguette franchisee in Santa Clara who denied overtime pay to 16 employees

Employer:     
Sweet Innovation Corp., operating as Paris Baguette
3159 Mission College Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA 95054

Investigation findings: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigators found Sweet Innovation Corp., operating as a Paris Baguette bakery and café franchise, denied employees working as cashiers and bakers the required overtime pay for hours over 40 in a workweek, a Fair Labor Standards Act violation. Investigators also found the employer failed to pay minimum wage to one worker.

Back Wages Recovered:       $43,670 in back wages and liquidated damages for 16 employees

                                                $12,912 in penalties for the willful nature of the violations found

Quote: “Employees have the right to be paid overtime rates for all the hours that they perform in excess of the 40 hours per week threshold,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Susana Blanco in San Francisco. “We are committed to making sure that employers know that the Department of Labor will not tolerate wage theft and that we will hold accountable those employers that underpay and exploit their workers.”

Background: In this case, investigators learned about the employer’s practices through the Employment Education and Outreach alliance, known as EMPLEO, that manages the multistate toll-free hotline 1-877-552-9832 to assist Spanish-speaking workers with workplace issues.

Owned by SPC Group in Seoul, South Korea, Paris Baguette is a chain of bakery-cafés with dozens of franchised U.S. locations.

Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, including a search tool to use if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.

Help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android and iOS Timesheet App for free, also available in Spanish.