Burger King, Pizza Hut, H&R Block and Jimmy John's are among two dozen companies to be investigated by the senate after Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) announced they'd launch a probe into whether or not the employers avoided overtime pay by doling out inappropriate job titles.
A sign is seen at a Pizza Hut restaurant on August 17, 2020 in Miami, Florida. Photo by Joe ... [+]
The investigation comes after a National Bureau of Economic Research report found the companies are exploiting a federal law that allows them to avoid paying overtime wages for employees coined “managers,” saving them roughly $4 billion in overtime payments per year.
Employers would give "questionable" titles to non-managerial employees and pay them above a federal predefined dollar threshold ($455/week), which disqualified them from earning overtime pay.
In reality, the report found they were performing entry- or low-level jobs that should have qualified for extra pay when work bled into overtime hours.The report found companies were using titles like “Director of First Impressions” for a front desk attendant, “Assistant Restaurant Manager” for a host or "Lead Shower Door Installer."
Warren and Brown have asked the companies to share data on employee records, including salaries and job titles, by July 11.
Representatives for Pizza Hut, H&R Block, Burger King and Jimmy John's did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Warren and Brown have a history of drawing attention to labor abuses at top companies like Amazon, Uber and Starbucks, the Washington Post reported, though their new probe does not fall under the authority of any Senate committee. The news comes after several major employee misclassification scandals that led to JPMorgan Chase paying $16.7 million to settle a lawsuit over bank branch managers in 2019 and a Panera Bread franchisee had to pay $4.6 million in 2020 after Ohio managers said they were forced to work without overtime pay because they were misclassified, per the Washington Post.
$3,200. That's how much workers misclassified as managers lose out on per year, according to the report.
Warren, Brown probe employers’ use of ‘manager’ title to avoid overtime (Washington Post)
Senate Launches Investigation Into Amazon’s Alleged ‘Dangerous And Illegal’ Warehouse Labor Practices (Forbes)