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Disney's $3.8 million labor violation: Costumes push paychecks below minimum wage
Source: Christian Science Monitor
Disney's $3.8 million labor violation: Costumes push paychecks below minimum wage
'Wage thefts' like these 'are not uncommon and are found in other
industries, as well,' says the US Labor Department's Daniel White.
Patrick Reilly
Staff
MARCH 18, 2017 —A job at “The Happiest Place on Earth” isn’t all smiles.
The Disney World employees who play Goofy, Mickey, and other iconic characters don’t just have to spend long hours in their costumes under the Florida sun. According to the US Department of Labor (DoL), they were on the hook for those costumes.
An investigation by the DoL’s Wages and Hours Division has found that “Disney resorts in Florida deducted a uniform or ‘costume’ expense that caused some employees’ hourly rates to fall below the federal minimum wage.” Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an employer can require an employee to bear the cost of a uniform – but not so much that it pushes the employee’s wages below $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum.
That’s what happened at Disney World, along with failure to keep required payroll records and requiring employees to perform uncompensated pre- and post-shift duties. Disney has agreed to pay 16,339 of its “cast members” a total of $3.8 million in back wages.
As “Fight for $15” and other groups continue their struggle to raise the minimum wage, this case makes clear that low-income workers face other obstacles on the road to higher take-home pay. Practices like Disney’s regularly push workers’ paychecks below the amounts required by law.
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'Wage thefts' like these 'are not uncommon and are found in other
industries, as well,' says the US Labor Department's Daniel White.
Patrick Reilly
Staff
MARCH 18, 2017 —A job at “The Happiest Place on Earth” isn’t all smiles.
The Disney World employees who play Goofy, Mickey, and other iconic characters don’t just have to spend long hours in their costumes under the Florida sun. According to the US Department of Labor (DoL), they were on the hook for those costumes.
An investigation by the DoL’s Wages and Hours Division has found that “Disney resorts in Florida deducted a uniform or ‘costume’ expense that caused some employees’ hourly rates to fall below the federal minimum wage.” Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an employer can require an employee to bear the cost of a uniform – but not so much that it pushes the employee’s wages below $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum.
That’s what happened at Disney World, along with failure to keep required payroll records and requiring employees to perform uncompensated pre- and post-shift duties. Disney has agreed to pay 16,339 of its “cast members” a total of $3.8 million in back wages.
As “Fight for $15” and other groups continue their struggle to raise the minimum wage, this case makes clear that low-income workers face other obstacles on the road to higher take-home pay. Practices like Disney’s regularly push workers’ paychecks below the amounts required by law.
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Read more: https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2017/0318/Disney-s-3.8-million-labor-violation-Costumes-push-paychecks-below-minimum-wage
1 replies
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