Wingstop restaurants in Mississippi withheld pay for uniforms, training, feds say

Emmalyse Brownstein
·1 min read
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Five Wingstop franchises in Mississippi violated wage and labor laws, federal officials said, and as a result, Boss Wings Enterprises LLC, which owns the stores, had to pay just over $114,000.

The U.S. Department of Labor investigated Wingstop restaurants in Clarksdale, Tupelo, Starkville, Olive Branch and Oxford, according to an Aug. 11 news release.

Officials say that at these stores, money for uniforms and cash register shortages was taken out of some employees’ paychecks, which made their pay fall below minimum wage. Money for safety training and background checks was also wrongly deducted in weeks where some employees worked overtime, making their wages fall below the required time-and-a half-overtime pay, according to the release.

Investigators said they also found that Boss Wings Enterprises LLC failed to accurately keep records of hours worked by employees and their wage deductions, and that on several occasions a 15-year-old worked later than child labor laws allow.

McClatchy News reached out to Wingstop but did not immediately receive a response, and attorney contact information for Boss Wings Enterprises LLC wasn’t immediately available.

“Restaurant industry employees work hard, often for low wages, and many depend on every dollar earned to make ends meet,” Audrey Hall, Wage and Hour Division district director, said in the release. “The law prevents Boss Wing Enterprises LLC from shifting operating costs to workers by deducting the costs of uniforms, cash register shortages or training expenses, or to allow a worker’s pay to fall below the minimum wage rate.”

The Wingstops were ordered by feds to pay 244 workers $51,674 in back wages and damages, plus $62,753 in civil penalties, according to the release.

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