In an attempt to beat Walmart on worker pay (but not go as far as Costco), Target is raising its lowest hourly wage from $10 to $11 starting next month, with plans to increase that base rate up to $15 per hour by 2020. [More]
minimum wage
Phone Sex Operators Say They Are Making Less Than Minimum Wage
By 6.29.17
No matter what field you work in, we all have the right to make at least minimum wage. But phone-sex operators working for a Florida-based company claim in a lawsuit that they’re being paid far less for their intimate chat time. [More]
Domino’s Must Pay $480,000 In Restitution To Underpaid Employees
By 3.9.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Last May, the Attorney General in New York State filed suit against Domino’s franchisees for underpaying their workers, and the state also included Domino’s corporate in the suit. This was controversial, since the corporate office insisted that paying restaurant employees was franchisees’ business. Now the case has been settled for $480,000, to be paid by three franchisees who own the ten restaurants that were part of the suit. [More]
Court: NCAA Athletes Are Not Employees, Not Entitled To Minimum Wage
By 12.7.16
Even though collegiate athletes brings in untold fortunes for schools, TV networks, merchandise makers, ticket vendors, and the hospitality and travel industries, they are not — according to a federal appeals court — employees of their schools and are therefore not entitled to be paid anything. [More]
Instacart Workers Say They Were Illegally Misclassified As Independent Contractors
By 12.5.16
To say that things have been contentious between Instacart and its hired shoppers and drivers would be a bit of an understatement, following backlash the company received when overhauling — and then again revamping — the way it handles tips. Last week, workers took things to another level, suing the grocery delivery startup claiming it broke state and federal labor laws. [More]
Fast Food, Airport, And Health Care Workers Stage Nationwide Walkout
By 11.29.16
The threatened strike of low-paid workers at Chicago’s O’Hare airport didn’t happen at Thanksgiving time as originally proposed, but did occur today as part of a nationwide series of strikes. In some cities, protesters blocking public streets were arrested, but the predicted disruption of air travel at the country’s busiest airports didn’t happen. [More]
One State & One City Voted To Eventually Do Away With Sub-Minimum Wages For Tipped Workers
By 11.9.16
If you’ve never worked in the foodservice or hospitality industry, you may not know that employees who rely on tips often earn base pay that is significantly less than minimum wage (the federal minimum is currently $2.13/hour). Tips can certainly add up to much more than the minimum wage, but they can also be cyclical and unpredictable, which is problematic for people living paycheck to paycheck. Yesterday, voters in one state and one city decided it was time to phase in wage increases that will eventually get tipped workers earning base pay that is at least the minimum. [More]
Washington D.C. To Raise Minimum Wage To $15/Hour By 2020
By 6.8.16
While companies like Target, Walmart, and IKEA have been announcing increases to their employee minimum wage one by one, some cities — and states — have take it upon themselves to approve across the board wage increases for residents. Joining the list that already includes Seattle, Los Angeles, and the state of California, the Washington, D.C. council approved a measure that would raise the minimum wage to $15/hour by 2020. [More]
New York Sues Domino’s Pizza HQ, Alleges Underpayment Of Workers
By 5.24.16
A new lawsuit filed by New York state prosecutors accuses Domino’s Pizza and three Domino’s franchisees of underpaying workers at 10 stores by at least $565,000. Meanwhile, Domino’s HQ contends it should not be a defendant because franchisees are responsible for handling issues of pay. [More]
143 NY Nail Salons Ordered To Pay Employees $2M In Back Wages
By 5.9.16
The New York task force created last year by the state to combat nail salon labor abuses is having an effect on the industry, with the group announcing today that it’s ordered a slew of nail salons to pay millions in back wages to employees. [More]
Franchisees’ Challenge To Seattle’s $15/Hour Minimum Wage Falls Short
By 5.2.16
When Seattle city leadership voted in 2014 to approve a plan to raise minimum wage to $15/hour over the course of several years, franchisees in the city said the rules were unfair and vowed to challenge the higher wages in court. Today that challenge came to a quiet end when the U.S. Supreme Court elected to not hear the matter. [More]
California, Labor Groups Reach Tentative Deal To Raise Statewide Minimum Wage To $15/Hour
By 3.28.16
California is poised to become the first state to adopt a $15 an hour minimum wage. Over the weekend legislators in the state said they had reached a tentative agreement with labor unions that would see the state rollout the wage increase over the next six years. [More]
Walmart To Raise All Employees’ Wages Next Month
By 1.20.16
Nearly a year after Walmart announced it would give 40% of its employees – mostly minimum wage workers – a pay increase, the nation’s largest retailer plans to give all employees, about 1.2 million of them, an earnings boost. [More]
Papa John’s Franchisee Gets Jail Sentence For Not Paying Minimum Wage
By 11.16.15
Earlier this year, the owner of nine Papa John’s franchises in New York City was brought up on charges wage theft for failing to pay his employees the legal minimum wage. As part of a plea deal, the franchisee will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars back to those workers and serve some time behind bars. [More]
Amazon “Prime Now” Drivers Accuse Company Of Wage Theft
By 10.28.15
If you’re in one of the markets where Amazon offers one- to two-hour “Prime Now” deliveries, the courier who comes to your door may be wearing an Amazon uniform, but they might not be Amazon employees. Some Prime Now drivers in California are accusing the e-commerce giant of using their “independent contractor” status to get away without paying them a legal wage. [More]
Connecticut Labor Department Inspects 25 Nail Salons, Shuts Down 23 For Wage Violations
By 8.18.15
New York City isn’t the only town on the eastern seaboard that’s cracking down on poor work conditions at nail salons lately: labor department officials up north in Connecticut say recent inspections at 25 nail salons resulted in closing down 23 of those businesses for a range of wage violations. [More]
Some Walmart Workers Not Thrilled About Pay Hikes (Because They Didn’t Get One)
By 8.6.15
Earlier this year, Walmart pledged to increase its starting wages, affecting about 40% of its workforce, but some employees who’ve been with the company for years and may not be affected by the pay hikes aren’t thrilled. [More]
NY State Wage Board Recommends $15/Hour Pay By 2021 For Fast Food Workers
By 7.22.15
The New York state Dept. of Labor panel tasked with reviewing fast food wages in the Empire State today released its recommendation for a plan to increase pay for workers at McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Burger King, and others to $15/hour over the next six years, and even sooner for workers in New York City. [More]
