Rick Ross first launched a Wingstop restaurant in Memphis over 10 years ago and now owns at least twenty-five of them. In 2014, it was claimed that he earned an estimated $7 million from his Wingstop investments. Ross’ various Wingstop outlets were recently issued with a bill for more than $100,000 for labor infractions.
Rick was fined by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor for various infractions at five Wingstop restaurant sites in Mississippi. According to Mississippi Today, Ross and his family used illegal means to force their employees to pay for uniforms, safety training, background checks, and cash register shortages.
The labor department also learned that improper deductions had been made from workers’ salaries, resulting in some of them receiving take-home pay of less than $7.25 an hour. Later, investigators learned that a 15-year-old had been working unlawfully after 10 o’clock in June 2021. Under federal legislation, teenagers are not permitted to work after 7 o’clock.
Director of Jackson’s Wage and Hour Division Audrey Hall stated in a statement, “Restaurants industry employees work hard, frequently for low wages, and many depend on every dollar earned to make ends meet.”
“The law prevents Boss Wing Enterprises LLC from shifting operating costs to workers … or to allow a worker’s pay to fall below the minimum wage rate.”
The Boss Wings Enterprises LLC roster includes Rick Ross, Tawanda Roberts, his mother Tommie Roberts, and their older sister and assistant, Tawanda Roberts. The franchise corporation was assessed a total of $62,753 in civil penalties by the Department of Labor, and $51,674 in back pay for 244 employees across the five stores was also recovered. The DOC news release summarized the circumstances in the interim.
“The operator of five Wing Stop franchise locations in Mississippi who made employees pay for their uniforms, safety training, background checks and cash register shortages – and violated child labor regulations – has been held accountable by the U.S. Department of Labor, and paid $114,427 in back wages, liquidated damages and civil penalties.”
In a statement, Wingstop declared its separation from Boss Wings LLC.
“The restaurants investigated by the DOL are owned and operated by a franchisee, not Wingstop Restaurants Inc. Our franchise agreement requires all of our franchisees to operate under our operating standards, which requires compliance with all laws and regulations. We were not previously aware of the DOL action against Boss Wings LLC.”
He gave his kid a Wingstop franchise in September of last year as a 16th birthday present. He had the cash to buy his son a franchise, but he decided not to pay the workers correctly. Let’s watch to see what transpires.
