Earlier this year, student guestworkers participating in the State Department’s J-1 Summer Work Travel Program filed complaints with the Department of Labor and State regarding working and housing conditions at three Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area McDonald’s franchises. Visas under the J-1 Summer Work Travel Program are available to post-secondary students pursuing a full time post-secondary education outside of the United States who come to the United States to work and travel during summer vacation.
The complaint alleges that the franchise owner and its labor supplier, GeoVisions, engaged in various illegal practices that bring the students’ wages below minimum wage, including such practices as, deducting above-market rent from the students’ paychecks while providing substandard basement housing. The franchisee owner and GeoVisons allegedly capitalized on the students’ desperation to work in order to pay back the debt incurred to cover the Summer Work Travel Program fees by placing the students on call at all times. The complaint further alleges various violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, including failure to record all hours worked by students, failure to pay the students for all hours worked, unlawful deductions resulting in payment below the minimum wage, unlawful pre-employment expenses resulting in payment below the minimum wage, and failure to pay overtime wages for hours worked over 40 in a week.
This article is authored by attorney Shannon O. Young and is intended for educational purposes and to give you general information and a general understanding of the law only, not to provide specific legal advice. Any particular questions should be directed to your legal counsel or, if you do not have one, please feel free to contact us.
