Last week, seven class-action lawsuits filed by employees in California, Michigan and New York accused McDonald's for failing to pay overtime and forcing employees to work off the clock. Now, one state has finally reached a settlement agreement.
According to the Huffington Post, state attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said that New York State has reached a settlement with Richard Cisneros, the owner of seven McDonald's franchises. The fast food chain will give nearly $500,000 to workers who claimed that McDonald's committed wage theft violations.
An investigation at the Manhattan restaurants found that cashiers were forced to work off-the-clock before and after their shifts. Workers were not reimbursed for uniform cleaning and they did not receive pay for extra hours worked. Employees who work extra hours must receive accurate pay, which is a requirement of New York law.
"Like every other business in New York State, fast food employers must follow our labor laws," Schneiderman said in a statement, according to the Huffington Post. "Our lowest wage workers deserve the same protections of the law as everyone else. It's critical, for them and for their families as well as for our economy, that we remain vigilant so that no New Yorkers are cheated out of their hard won earnings."
The settlement also includes "more than 1,600 current and former McDonald's employees," according to the Huffington Post. A McDonald's spokesperson said the company was looking into the allegations of mishandled payments, after news of the lawsuits hit the press.
Fast food workers make about $8.90 an hour, which is nearly two dollars more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25, however lawmakers and labor groups have also been pushing to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour
McDonald's recently cited concerns over low wages as one of the possible risks that may impact the fast food chain's future. In the 2014 Service Employees International Union, the chain stated that the public focus on low wages could "hurt the fast-food giant's profit margins."