No, of course not!

Corporations left on their own, without the pesky government and its regulations, would NEVER cheat their lowliest workers out of money.  NO!   NEVER! These poor corporations, conservatives will argue, are the backbone of our economy, and they create jobs!

That may be true in some instances, but here's what mega-huge franchise businesses have been caught doing:



Domino's Franchisees Settle Wage Theft Investigation In New York For $448,000 

The owners of 23 Domino's Pizza locations in New York agreed Thursday to pay workers nearly half a million dollars to settle a wage-theft investigation by the office of state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman. Schneiderman's office says it uncovered a raft of labor law violations that occurred between 2007 and 2013 at the stores, which are owned by six franchisees. Those include delivery workers being paid below the $5.65 tipped minimum wage they were entitled to, workers not being paid for overtime worked beyond 40 hours, and delivery drivers not being fully reimbursed for their auto expenses. 

 The $448,000 restitution fund will be divvied up among 750 current and former Domino's workers, most of whom will get between $200 and $2,000. The settlement comes on the heels of a similar deal reached by Schneiderman's office last week, when it settled an investigation bringing nearly $500,000 to McDonald's workers in New York City who said they'd been shorted on pay. "The violations in these cases demonstrate a statewide pattern of Domino's franchisees flouting the law and illegally chiseling at the pay of minimum-wage workers, who struggle to survive," Schneiderman said in a statement. 

"My office will be relentless in pursuing fast-food employers who underpay the hardworking people who are the backbone of their operations." The franchisees have admitted to the violations, according to Schneiderman's office. The attorney general listed all of the franchisees and their restaurants, which span eight New York counties, on the state website.

[skip]


Fast Food Forward, the union-backed group that helped organized those strikes, issued a statement calling the Domino's franchise settlement a "huge victory." Naquasia LeGrand, a Brooklyn KFC employee and member of the group, also criticized companies like McDonald's and Domino's for distancing themselves from their franchisees' actions. "[F]ast food corporations like Domino’s and McDonald’s cannot hide from their responsibility for these unlawful practices," LeGrand said in the statement. "They’re the ones in control of the daily operations of their franchisees."



Wage war: Employers stealing millions from US workers 


 Workers nationwide are losing millions of dollars each week to wage theft as their employers, some unscrupulous, others scrambling to keep their businesses afloat, fail to pay the mandated minimum wage or overtime wages, or, in some cases, don't pay their employees at all. Wage theft is far more common than was known just a few years ago, according to a new report from the Research Institute on Social and Economic Policy at Florida International University. 

 "Employers are under a tight squeeze and looking for different ways to save money. Some are using wage theft as a business model to cut costs," said Cynthia Hernandez, co-author of the report. The research institute's study comes just as Florida is debating how to handle wage theft allegations. The state hasn't had a labor department since former Gov. Jeb Bush dismantled the department a decade ago.





And here're other fat cat business owners who stole hard-earned money from their employees (weren't these hogs rich enough from their restaurants, book sales, and teevee appearances?): 



 Mario Batali Settles Tip Lawsuit For $5.25 Million



 Wolfgang Puck's Catering Company Sued for Stealing Tips