Sonic Drive In Gets Department of Labor Help to Stop Wage Theft

The U.S. Department of Labor and Sonic Drive In, the nation’s largest drive-in restaurant chain have signed a voluntary agreement to help Sonic’s 3,000+ drive in franchise locations comply with federal labor laws. Sonic has been one of a number of fast food restaurants that have been hit with wage theft lawsuits complaining that workers have had their time shaved, did not get overtime after 40 hours, and were required to work “off the clock.” The Department of Labor announced, “We encourage other franchisors to follow Sonic’s example and take similar steps to benefit their franchises’ employees and owners by complying with the law… Abiding by the law makes better business sense than facing the prospect of paying back wages, damages, and penalties for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.” The Department of Labor will provide easy-to-use compliance assistance tools designed for the franchise restaurant industry. The package will include video and online training, educational articles for use in internal company publications, and sample training materials for use in company staff meetings. The Department of Labor will also make representatives available to provide training and labor law compliance assistance to Sonic franchisees. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that fast food workers be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour (note that New York has a higher minimum wage) as well as time-and-one-half their regular rates for every hour they work beyond 40 per week. Fast food restaurants and many chain restaurants have been sued recently for violating workers’ rights by failing to pay overtime and by forcing employees to work “off the clock.”