Tampa Bay Subway franchisee ordered to pay back wages and damages to workers following US Labor Department investigation

 04/10/2012

TAMPA, Fla. — (www.hospitalitybusinessnews.com) A Subway eatery franchisee with 29 locations in the Tampa Bay area has been ordered to pay 122 employees a total of $7,536 in minimum back wages plus $3,768 in liquidated damages by Judge Richard Lazzara of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division. The judgment resolves a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor against Franchise Equity Group Inc., doing business as MacSub, which followed an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division that found violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage provisions.

Employees included in the judgment were not paid for work hours spent taking Subway “Sandwich Artist Certification” training courses, which resulted in the minimum wage violations. The payments will be distributed directly to the employees by the company. Funds will be turned over to the Wage and Hour Division for any employees the company is unable to contact. Individuals who believe that they may be involved in this case should contact the division’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243).

“Low-wage workers deserve the full protection of federal labor laws,” said James Schmidt, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Tampa District Office, which conducted the investigation. “The Wage and Hour Division is continuing its restaurant enforcement initiative throughout Florida to make sure employees of both full-service and limited-service restaurants receive their full pay, and that employers who follow the law do not have to face unfair competition from those who ignore it. This lawsuit illustrates that the division will use any enforcement tools necessary to resolve cases where vulnerable workers have been exploited.”