A New York City fast-food operator is paying a steep price after regulators found ongoing scheduling issues that impacted hundreds of workers. A franchisee running multiple Taco Bell and Dunkin’ locations has agreed to pay more than $1.5 million to resolve allegations it violated New York City’s Fair Workweek Law. According to the City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, Salz Management LLC, which oversees about two dozen stores, failed to give employees proper advance notice of their schedules.
Officials said the company also did not properly compensate workers for so-called “clopening” shifts, where employees close late and return early the next day. In addition, investigators found the franchisee did not consistently offer extra shifts to existing employees before bringing in new hires.
The Fair Workweek Law, enacted in 2017, requires fast-food employers to provide at least 14 days’ notice for schedules and mandates premium pay for last-minute changes. The law was designed to create stability for hourly workers whose routines and income can be disrupted by unpredictable scheduling.
City officials stressed the violations were widespread, not isolated. “Managers routinely failed to give workers sufficient notice of their schedules” and skipped required premium payments tied to last-minute changes, the department said.
The settlement comes as city leadership continues to push for stronger labor enforcement. Meanwhile, a separate lawsuit has been filed against another Dunkin’ operator over similar claims affecting nearly 1,000 workers, signaling that enforcement efforts are far from over.
