The city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection announced on Friday that they’ve secured nearly $3 million from six major businesses to resolve claims of labor violations made by thousands of employees in the Big Apple.
“Working-class New Yorkers are this administration’s top priority. Through these impressive settlements, we are standing up for thousands of workers who had their rights violated and putting millions back into their pockets,” said Mayor Eric Adams. “Employers that do not provide workers with a fair work week, paid sick leave, and other legally mandated benefits are on warning — our administration takes workplace laws seriously and we will hold you accountable.”
The biggest allotment will come from Taco Bell, where DCWP claims the company violated the Fair Workweek Law and the Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law at 10 separate locations. Among the infractions, Taco Bell managers failed to: provide workers with sick leave; pay premiums for schedule changes and closing shifts; provide workers the opportunity to work more regular hours before hiring new workers; and give workers work schedules 14 days in advance of the start of the schedule.
For their violations, Taco Bell will shell out $819,000 to 888 workers, and $81,000 in civil penalties.
Charging them with the same violations, Robert Cookston, a Domino’s Pizza franchisee, will be forced to pay out $288,000 in restitution to 192 workers from four of his locations in the Bronx and Manhattan, along with $32,000 in civil penalties and costs.
Another fast food establishment, White Castle, will need to pay $777,000 to resolve claims made by 1,500 employees, along with $75,000 in civil penalties, after the DCWP found they denied workers advanced notice of schedule changes at least 14 days in advance, and did not pay a legally-mandated premium when changing those schedules.
Farm Country, a city-based grocery store chain, meanwhile is being forced to shell out $368,000 in restitution to 42 workers and more than $31,000 in penalties after they terminated employees immediately after they took over a former Key Foods location — rather than retaining them for the legally-mandated 90 days after the ownership transfer.
The fifth company being hit with penalties in the DCWP’s recent round of fines is Amazon, which will need to pay $136,000 in restitution to 273 workers and nearly $93,000 in civil penalties after they violated the Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law by failing to provide certain part-time and short-term workers with accrued sick leave at its Woodside, Queens DBK1 location, a DCWP spokesperson said.
Finally, Public Preparatory Network, a non-profit network of charter schools, will be forced to shell out more than $318,000 in restitution to 675 workers, along with more than $31,000 in civil penalties and costs — as the DCWP investigation found the company maintained unlawful “blackout dates” when employees were not allowed to use safe and sick leave at six locations across the city.
“NYC is a working people’s city, and we will not allow businesses to violate the law and deny workers their rights, like the right to a predictable schedule or the use of paid safe and sick leave,” said DCWP Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga.
