Lubbock, Texas, Chick-fil-A Franchisee Pays Back Wages To Employees After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

LUBBOCK, TX – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD), West End Futures LLC - operator of a Chick-fil-A franchise in Lubbock, Texas - has paid $12,510 in back wages to 184 employees for violating the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime requirements.

Investigators found the employer violated FLSA minimum wage requirements when it charged employees earning minimum wage $60 for required uniforms, bringing their wages below the FLSA-required minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The employer violated the FLSA’s overtime requirements when it failed to include bonuses employees earned in their rates when calculating overtime. This exclusion resulted in the employer paying overtime at rates lower than those required by law.

“Employees must receive all the wages they have legally earned – under both minimum wage and overtime requirements,” said Wage and Hour Division District Director Evelyn Sanchez in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “Employers should evaluate their pay practices to ensure that they are in compliance. We encourage all employers to call us, confidentially, to speak with a trained Wage and Hour professional to get their questions answered.” 

The Department offers numerous resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with federal law, such as online videos, confidential calls, or in-person visits to local WHD offices.

Employers that discover overtime or minimum wage violations may self-report and resolve those violations without litigation through the PAID program. For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information is also available at www.dol.gov/agencies/whd including a search tool for workers who may be owed back wages collected by WHD.

The mission of WHD is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the nation's workforce. WHD enforces federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. WHD also enforces the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, wage garnishment provisions of the Consumer Credit Protection Act and a number of employment standards and worker protections as provided in several immigration related statutes. Additionally, WHD administers and enforces the prevailing wage requirements of the Davis Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act and other statutes applicable to federal contracts for construction and for the provision of goods and services.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

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