News Release
US Department of Labor recovers $358K in back wages, interest for 31 managers wrongly denied overtime by Dairy Queen operator
SAN ANTONIO – The operator of 19 San Antonio-area Dairy Queen locations failed to pay 31 managers as required and must pay back wages and interest to the employees, following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation and federal court order.
The department’s Wage and Hour Division recovered $358,200 in back wages and interest from R&S Dairy Queens Inc. for the employees. The division determined the managers, who received less than the required minimum salary for managers under the Fair Labor Standards Act, were entitled to the minimum wage for every hour of work and overtime when they worked more than 40 in a work week.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio affirmed the division’s findings in a consent judgment and issued an injunction prohibiting R&S Dairy Queens from future violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime and recordkeeping provisions.
“Employers cannot avoid overtime requirements by simply giving an employee a title and paying them a salary,” said Wage and Hour District Director Cynthia Ramos in San Antonio. “Most employees – even those paid a fixed salary or flat amount per day or shift – are entitled to overtime unless specific FLSA requirements are met. We encourage other employers to review their pay practices, and to contact us with questions to avoid similar violations.”
R&S Dairy Queens Inc. operates 19 franchise locations in San Antonio and the surrounding area with approximately 350 full- and part-time employees.
For more information about the FLSA and other laws enforced by the division, contact the agency’s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Learn more about the Wage and Hour Division, and use its search tool if you think you may be owed back wages collected by the division. Workers can call the Wage and Hour Division confidentially with questions – regardless of their immigration status – and the department can speak with callers in more than 200 languages.
