The US Labor Department announced Thursday that a company owned by rapper Rick Ross’ family was fined for labor violations at five of its Wingstop locations in Mississippi.
According to the Labor Department, Boss Wings Enterprises LLC required employees to pay for their uniforms, safety trainings, background checks, and cash register shortages, causing some employees’ hourly wages to fall below the $7.25 federal minimum wage.
The franchisee also violated child labor regulations by allowing a 15-year-old to work past 10 p.m. several times in June 2021, violating standards that prohibit 14- and 15-year-olds from working past 7 p.m. from June 1 to Labor Day, according to the department.
The department’s investigation led to the recovery of $51,674 in back wages for 244 workers and $62,753 in civil money penalties from Boss Wings Enterprises LLC.
“Restaurant industry employees work hard, often for low wages, and many depend on every dollar earned to make ends meet,” Audrey Hall, the Wage and Hour Division district director in Jackson, Mississippi, said in a statement.
“The law prevents Boss Wing Enterprises LLC from shifting operating costs to workers by deducting the costs of uniforms, cash register shortages or training expenses, or to allow a worker’s pay to fall below the minimum wage rate,” Hall added.
Ross reportedly owned 10 Wingstop locations in 2016 through his company, Boss Wings Enterprises LLC. He said on Instagram last year that he had given one of the franchises to his son for his 16th birthday. The rapper’s sister, Tawanda Roberts, is listed as the CEO of Boss Wings Enterprises LLC in public records.
Wingstop, a Texas-based fast-food corporation operates approximately 1,400 locations worldwide. The company has not yet commented publicly on the matter.