Jimmy John's With a Side of Wage Theft?

[Judi Lynn]

Tuesday, August 12, 2014
by Common Dreams

Jimmy John's With a Side of Wage Theft?

Former employees sue company and franchisee for willful wage theft affecting 'tens of thousands' of current and former workers

by Sarah Lazare, staff writer

Former Jimmy John's workers last week filed a class action lawsuit in federal court charging that the sandwich chain famed for "dirt cheap" prices is stealing workers' wages as a matter of nation-wide policy.

Karolis Kubelskas and Emily Brunner, both former workers at separate Jimmy John's shops in Illinois, charge that their employers violated numerous state and federal laws by "requiring hourly employees to work 'off the clock' without getting paid"—a practice that led to sub-minimum wages, denial of overtime pay, and therefore "significant monetary losses." They say that this practice, which affects "tens of thousands" of current and former workers, amounts to intentional "systematic wage theft."

Both Jimmy John's Enterprise and franchisee JS Fort Group—owner of the two Illinois locations that employed the plaintiffs—are named in the suit.

Jimmy John's, which boasts 1,900 shops across the United States, says it offers low prices and an "irreverent attitude" that college students love. But critics charge that the company's business model is, in fact, based on skimping on labor costs and denying workers their rights.

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/08/12/jimmy-johns-side-wage-theft

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. Their prices aren't actually all that low either.

At least not the one in my vicinity.

[yeoman6987]

3. I was surprised to read low prices

Although I absolutely love the company, I don't think they have low prices. What they do have is an insane work ethic and the nicest customer service around. I hope everything is resolved quickly so the workers can go back to making sandwiches. The ironic thing is I just had Jimmy Johns tonight and still have my large diet coke with the Jimmy Johns logo on the cup as I read this. "JJ"

[Brigid]

4. They aren't around here either.

[JEFF9K]

2. The speedy delivery they promise in their commercials is kind of troubling.

I haven't heard that they were famous for low prices.

[mwooldri]

5. Yup, their "freaky fast delivery" involves running red lights.

Got t-boned by a JJ delivery driver around Christmas time a few years back - and that time of the year isn't a good time to have a wreck (nan died in traffic accident on Christmas Eve).

The strange thing is that even after the accident and having called 911 and all that... her next call was to the person who she was delivering to. They lived very close to the accident area, so they got their food a little while after - they came out to the accident site.

So Jimmy Johns isn't a place I do business with because of the bad memories now associated with their name.

[A Little Weird]

6. Darn

I like their sandwiches but I will scratch them off of my lunch place list until they decide to treat their employees right.