Press Release

Subway Franchisee Pays Back Wages After Denying Paid Sick Leave To Worker with Children at Home When School Closed During Coronavirus

Issued by Wage and Hour Division [WHD], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

June 25, 2020

IRVINE, CA – A resolution by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) has led a Subway franchisee in Irvine, California, to pay $595 in back wages to an employee who missed work to remain home to care for her children due to the lack of childcare during the coronavirus.

Managers at Rollino Group, Inc., owner and operator of the Subway on Culver Drive in Irvine said they were unfamiliar with the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). When informed, they agreed to fully comply and pay the two weeks of leave and 10 weeks of future leave to the employee, a single mother of two working the graveyard shift. 

“We appreciate the franchisee and its risk management consultant working with us to repay the worker once they learned of their obligations under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” said Wage and Hour District Director Rodolfo Cortez in San Diego, California. “We encourage employers and employees to call us for assistance and review our online tools to improve their understanding of the requirements under this new law.”

The FFCRA helps the U.S. combat and defeat the workplace effects of the coronavirus by giving tax credits to American businesses with fewer than 500 employees either to provide employees with paid leave for the employee’s own health needs or to care for family members. Please visit WHD’s “Quick Benefits Tips” for information about how much leave workers may qualify to use, and the wages employers must pay. The law enables employers to keep their workers on their payrolls, while at the same time ensuring that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat the virus.

Editor's note: This press release has been issued by the company named above, not BenefitsLink. Reliance on information in this press release might be prudent only after an independent review of its accuracy, completeness, efficacy, and timeliness. Reference to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, service mark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by BenefitsLink.