Domino’s Pizza Pays $370,000 in Back Wages for Minimum Wage and Overtime Violations

A Florida based Domino's Pizza franchisee has paid 401 employees $371,675 in back wages following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, which found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's overtime, minimum wage and record-keeping provisions. Investigators from the Department of Labor found systemic violations at 19 restaurant locations, resulting from the company's failure to properly compensate tip-earning employees, such as delivery drivers, for all of their hours worked. Even when performing nontipped duties such as cooking, cleaning and stocking, the workers were paid as if they were tipped employees, with hourly wage rates as low as $5.15 rather than the required federal minimum wage of $7.25. The employer also made illegal deductions from employees' wages for uniforms, and failed to properly calculate and compensate tipped employees for all overtime hours (those worked in excess of 40 in a week). Finally, the employer failed to record and designate hours worked as tipped or nontipped in order to pay employees correctly, which violates the FLSA's record-keeping provisions. Following the investigations, the PDQ Pizza Domino’s franchise paid all back wages owed and agreed to maintain future compliance with the FLSA. The company also committed to changing its timekeeping and payroll practices to ensure that all hours worked by tipped and nontipped employees are properly recorded and compensated in accordance with the FLSA. The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 for all hours worked, plus time and one-half their regular rates for hours worked beyond 40 per week. In accordance with the FLSA, an employer of a tipped employee is required to pay at least $2.13 an hour in direct wages provided that amount plus the tips received equals at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. If an employee's tips combined with the employer's direct wages does not equal the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. Employers also are required to provide employees notice of the FLSA tip credit provisions, to maintain accurate time and payroll records, and to comply with restrictions applying to workers under age 18.