Several Mississippi Wingstop locations owned by the family of Rick Ross have been hit with hefty fines for illegally deducting money from employee wages.
The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division says the chicken restaurants operating under Boss Wing Enterprises forced their workers to pay for safety training, background checks, uniforms, and cash register shortages out of their own paychecks. The massive deductions resulted in several employees taking home less than the state’s minimum wage, $7.25 an hour.
The investigation conducted by the Wage and Hour Division discovered that many of the deductions were made during weeks when employees worked extra shifts. There was also a lack of timekeeping records for staff members. One of the most significant strikes against Boss Wing Enterprises was a 15-year-old illegally working past 10:00 p.m. despite a federal law prohibiting minors from working past 7:00 p.m.
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The DOL recovered $51,674 in wages owed to 244 workers. As a result of the illegal penalties, the franchise company must fork over $62,753 in civil penalties.
Rozay and his family have been amassing their Wingstop empire over the years. They currently own 30 locations. This is the first time that their restaurants have been penalized in such a way. His sister and assistant, Tawanda Roberts, and their mother, Tommie Roberts, are listed as registered agents and managers of Boss Wings Enterprises LLC in Mississippi.
Wingstop has issued a statement, seemingly distancing itself from the MMG founder, despite him appearing in multiple advertisements for the company.
“The restaurants investigated by the DOL are owned and operated by a franchisee, not Wingstop Restaurants Inc.,” the company said in a statement.
Following reports, Rick Ross took to Instagram to seemingly respond.
“When you’re running a business, there will be mistakes,” he said. “But as the biggest boss, you never make the same mistake twice.” He then took accountability for the mishap and said he’s using this as a stepping stone to greater things.
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