NEW YORK (TIP): NY State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has acted tough against employers in the fast food industry who have been indulging in wage theft. In a communication to The Indian Panorama, Mr. Schneiderman has disclosed that he has launched a campaign to stamp out wage theft. He said:
“Major news: this week, as part of my campaign to stamp out wage theft throughout the fast food industry, my office brought a first of its kind lawsuit against Domino’s Pizza, seeking to hold the company responsible for the widespread and systemic wage theft that we allege occurs across its franchise restaurants.
“As the Daily News, NY Times, and NY Post reported, our lawsuit is the culmination of a four-year investigation that uncovered clear evidence that Domino’s executives not only knew about the extent of the alleged wage theft at their restaurants, but also forced franchises to use payroll software that systematically underpaid low-wage workers. That is unacceptable-and under my watch, we will end it.
“Since I’ve taken office, we’ve uncovered rampant wage theft at Domino’s restaurants across New York State. We’ve busted 12 franchise owners operating 61 restaurants in 14 different counties, each time uncovering a pattern of illegal conduct aimed at denying hard working New Yorkers their full wages. Through our efforts, we’ve already recovered more than $26 million for nearly 20,000 worker’s industry wide who were cheated out of their wages. “The wage theft epidemic needs to stop. And, with your support, we are making major progress towards that goal each and every day.”