Almost 90% of Fast Food Workers Say They've Experienced Wage Theft
Last month, fast food workers across America filed several class action lawsuits alleging illegal wage theft by their employers. If you think that's a far-fetched problem, take a look at these new poll results.
This poll of more than 1,000 fast food workers across the country was commissioned by the same labor-led coalition driving the ongoing movement for higher wages in the fast food industry. With that caveat, here are some of its results—the most prominent being that 89% of fast food employees say they have experienced some sort of wage theft on the job. The percentage reporting other violations include:
Have been required to perform tasks before clocking in, or after clocking out: 60%
Have not been paid for all hours worked or all tasks performed: 46%
Not allowed a break every time I worked a shift of 6+ hours: 43%
Have had the cost of uniform items deducted from my paycheck: 40%
Have received my paycheck late or been asked to wait a day or more before cashing it: 38%
None of this should be too surprising for anyone who's worked for a bad manager at McDonalds. The fact that some of our nation's lowest-paid workers are subject to these violations on a routine basis makes it all the more outrageous.
[Photo: AP]