Wage advocates welcomed and restaurant reps denounced on Tuesday a move by the New York State Attorney General to try to hold restaurant companies responsible for what occurs at their franchise locations.
Eric Schneiderman’s lawsuit against three corporate entities associated with Domino’s and three Domino’s franchisees alleges that they underpaid workers at least $565,000 at 10 New York state stores. It marks the first time the AG has alleged that “a fast food corporation is liable as a joint employer for labor violations at its franchise stores.”
The suit arrives as franchisees and corporations confront a new legal landscape. Last August, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that the waste contractor Browning-Ferris was responsible for the treatment of the employees that a contractor used to run a California recycling facility. The decision articulated a new standard that could apply to fast-food and other industries that try to separate a global brand from the work identified with it.
