A civil rights organization will be holding a news conference Wednesday to announce the filing to at least two federal lawsuits.
The South Texas Civil Rights Project (STCRP) and Fuerza del Valle Workers’ are teaming up to represent restaurant workers who claim they between $2.54 an hour and $5 dollars which is lower than the minimum wage.
“These were not waiters” STCRP Spokesman hector Guzman Lopez said.
“They were cooks. These restaurants violated the Fair Standards Labor Act, because they were given less than the minimum wage” he added.
The minimum wage is currently $7.25.
Representatives from the Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid (TRLA) will also be on hand to announce their organization has filed four lawsuits against Brownsville’s Carwash Plus.
According to TRLA, the four former employees claim they were “required to work between 54 and 70 hours per week and were paid at a rate between $1.10 and $2 an hour”.
The lawsuit details how the employees were required to be on the company’s property at all times and were disciplined if they tried to leave without a supervisor’s permission.
According to TRLA attorney Kelsey Snapp, “The employees were required to be at work but were only paid for the minutes they were literally touching someone’s car. That’s unacceptable and against the law.”
The former employees are suing under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Texas Minimum Wage Act. The laws establish a minimum wage and guarantee time-and-a-half wages for overtime worked in certain jobs.
“Employers can try all the tricks they want to avoid paying fair wages, but it won’t work,” added Snapp. “The law protects workers from these shenanigans.” South Texas Civil Rights Project Spokesman Hector Guzman Lopez told Action 4 News they see these cases all the time.
In their lawsuit, they are demanding back pay to the ‘subminimum wage’ the workers allegedly received.
The names of the two restaurants will be revealed tomorrow at 11am news conference.
It will be held at 355 W. Elizabeth Street in Brownsville, Suite 215 on the second floor.
Both civil rights organizations are encouraging workers to attend the news conference if they feel they have been taken advantage of.
For more information, call 956-787-8171.
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