Which Fast Food Chain Underpays Its Employees the Most?

Are you looking for a part time job in between classes and marathon study sessions? Some students pick up a quick buck by getting a job at the local fast food place and the pay tends to suck as do most part time college jobs. However, only one can suck the most and a new study found that one fast food chain actually underpays its employees by an astronomical amount.
The sandwich chain Subway racked up an impressive number of salary violations and sparked more than 1,100 investigations for underpaying their employees in the last 13 years. So far, Subway has committed around 17,000 Fair Labor Standards violations and paid more than $3.8 million in reimbursements to its employees. That’s more than any other major fast food chain in America, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.
The problem stems from the fast food industry’s corporate structure. The individual stores may have the logos of its corporate parents on the wrappers and the building but they are actually owned by local operators so the parent company can easily distance itself from stores that fail to pay their employees on time. Federal investigators also have to examine each individual store rather than the entire chain. That makes it harder for the U.S. Department of Labor to take action against companies with so many repeat offenders–like Subway.
So just keep that in mind the next time you fill out an application for a part time job. It sounds like if Subway is your only option, you’re better off just selling your plasma to earn your beer money. Sure, you might feel more lightheaded and have less platelets in your bloodstream but at least you know you won’t have to wait for the check to clear.