The County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) is announcing settlements with three Southern California-based companies that operate two popular restaurants — Original Tommy’s and Pizza Hut — for violations of the County’s Minimum Wage Ordinance, which covers work performed in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The settlements include the payment of $476,777 in back wages and fines to 132 low-wage workers and the County of Los Angeles.
“During the pandemic, it is crucial that our essential workforce is paid what they are owed. As a former U.S. Secretary of Labor, I am well aware that a smaller paycheck at this critical moment means that some households may have to decide between putting food on the table and paying rent,” said Los Angeles County Chair Pro Tem Hilda L. Solis. “I am pleased that our Department of Consumer and Business Affairs has protected the livelihoods of our essential workers at these two establishments.”
“Paying employees less than permissible by law will simply not be tolerated in the County,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. “Employers need to be put on notice!”
Following a DCBA investigation, the owners of two companies, Tomdan Enterprises Inc. and Koulax Enterprises Inc. DBA Original Tommy’s World-Famous Hamburgers, have agreed to pay $397,775 in back wages and fines for violating the ordinance. DCBA wage investigators found that the companies had underpaid 96 of its employees over three years dating back to July 2016. The companies agreed to pay $147,775 in back wages and $147,000 in fines directly to the affected employees, plus $103,000 in fines to the County.
Based on the review of payroll records of Southern California Pizza Company, a franchisee of Pizza Hut headquartered in the city of Orange, DCBA wage investigators cited the company for violations at six Pizza Hut locations in the County’s unincorporated area, including $19,002 in back wages owed to 36 employees, most of whom worked at the company’s location in the unincorporated community of Los Nietos. The company agreed to pay back wages and total fines of $60,000 to aggrieved workers and the County.
“Wage theft always causes harm, but during a pandemic, economic injury and inequity are compounded,” said DCBA Director Joseph M. Nicchitta. “I am proud of our wage enforcement program for helping underpaid workers recover what they are owed during this time of economic uncertainty.”
DCBA offers resources to ensure employers have the tools they need to understand their responsibilities and to comply with minimum wage laws in unincorporated Los Angeles County. The current minimum wage for workers who perform more than two hours of work in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County is $15.00 an hour for larger businesses (with 26 or more employees) and $14.25 for small businesses (25 or fewer employees).
To check if your workplace is in unincorporated Los Angeles County and subject to L.A. County’s minimum wage ordinance, visit bit.ly/LACoAddressCheck.
Since 1976, the County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer and Business Affairs (DCBA) has served consumers, businesses, and communities through education, advocacy, and complaint resolution. We work every day to educate consumers and small business owners about their rights and responsibilities, mediate disputes, investigate consumer fraud complaints, and enforce Los Angeles County’s minimum wage and rent stabilization ordinances. For more information, visit dcba.lacounty.gov.
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.
Los Angeles County Parks is looking for highly-talented independent instructors to bring valuable expertise and learning to the community through the Contact Class Program.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday 91 new deaths and 1,407 new cases of COVID-19, with 26,212 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Los Angeles County Public Health officials on Monday confirmed 32 new deaths and 987 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, as Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia reported two new deaths since Friday.
In partnership with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, the city of Santa Clarita will launch its “Guard That Auto” campaign this spring to combat an increase in grand theft auto over the past year.
The race to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Los Angeles County despite vaccine shortages is cutthroat and most people don’t even know they’re in the competition.
After receiving athletic protocol updates from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the Los Angeles Department of Public Health (LADPH) and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the William S. Hart Union High School District has put together a complete athletic program following all state and county guidelines.
The ability to transform data into information and insights that can elevate a business and influence decisions is at the core of the newest major being offered in California State University, Northridge’s David Nazarian College of Business and Economics.
Three teachers from the William S. Hart Union High School District have been named by NASA and the SETI Institute to fly on NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
Los Angeles County Parks is looking for highly-talented independent instructors to bring valuable expertise and learning to the community through the Contact Class Program.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed Tuesday 91 new deaths and 1,407 new cases of COVID-19, with 26,212 total cases in the Santa Clarita Valley.
After its cancelation last year due to the emergence of COVID-19, the College of the Canyons Scholarly Presentation will return this spring in a new virtual format.
Santa Clarita Planning commissioners are expected to make a decision Tuesday regarding the proposed expansion of Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital via multiple construction projects that include building a second inpatient tower.
Santa Clarita Valley educators were next in line to receive their COVID-19 vaccine shots at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Monday, more than two months after the hospital received its first batch of vaccines for hospital frontline workers.
Los Angeles County Public Health officials on Monday confirmed 32 new deaths and 987 new cases of COVID-19 countywide, as Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia reported two new deaths since Friday.
In partnership with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, the city of Santa Clarita will launch its “Guard That Auto” campaign this spring to combat an increase in grand theft auto over the past year.
The city of Santa Clarita, in partnership with the Santa Clarita Sister Cities program, invites local students to submit artwork, poetry, essays/creative writing, photographs, or music for the 2021 Sister Cities International Young Artists and Authors Showcase.
In a rush to bring children back to California schools after a year of closed campuses, Governor Gavin Newsom and lawmakers said Monday the state will offer $2 billion to school districts willing to reopen next month.
The race to get a COVID-19 vaccine in Los Angeles County despite vaccine shortages is cutthroat and most people don’t even know they’re in the competition.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has learned of a text message phishing scam related to REAL ID and reminds customers that it will never ask for personal information related to driver’s license number, Social Security number, or financial information through email, text, or over the phone.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.
0 Comments
You can be the first one to leave a comment.