California
Four lawsuits were filed in California against McDonald’s the corporation, and against franchises. The claims were that workers were not paid for all of the hours they worked, did not receive overtime pay, and their time cards were altered. The common theme was that in order to keep costs down (and revenues up) wages were altered and changed; subsequently the company was stealing from the workers to keep their profits up.
Michigan
In Michigan two similar lawsuits were filed. Two franchises in the Detroit area have been alleged to be stealing wages from their employees. In these claims the plaintiffs came into work at the time they were scheduled, however, they were told to wait and not clock in until there were customers in the store. Some claims are that workers are not even allowed to clock in until the store is “busy.” Some employees were forced to clock out during the slow times and not clock back in until business picked back up.
New York
In New York the claim is slightly different. One suit was filed alleging that McDonald’s did not reimburse the employees for the weekly costs of cleaning their uniforms (nor did they reimburse employees for the upfront costs of purchasing the uniforms). The allegations are that this is in violation of state law, and by requiring the employees to pay for their own uniforms and cleaning; it drops their wages below minimum wage.
McDonald’s did not fully address the issue. Instead of acknowledging the low wages and unfair treatment, the company simply said that they are committed, “to the well-being and fair treatment of all people who work in McDonald’s restaurants.”
The attorneys at Phillips Dayes understand that some companies try to get around paying their employees fairly. Instead of compensating their employees for the number of hours worked, some prefer to put their profits first and make the decision to shave hours from timecards, refuse to pay overtime, and overall not value the time put forth by their workers. Lawyers from Phillips Dayes are willing to fight for the employee to make sure that all wage laws are followed by employers, and that employees will receive the compensation they deserve.
Contact Phillips Dayes
Have you been treated unfairly at your place of employment? Have you worked hours for which you were never paid? You may be able to collect compensation for your time. Contact a highly trained attorney at by filling out the contact form on this page, or by calling 1-800-917- 4000 to schedule your free initial case review.