Court awards Burger King workers $2 million for unpaid wages, denial of breaks

California has ordered Golden Gate Restaurant Group Inc. to pay $2.2 million in wage theft citations to 230 people who worked at its Burger King stores between 2016 and 2019 .

The corporation, which previously operated six Burger King restaurants in San Francisco, CA, now owes more than $724,000 in unpaid wage, more than $371,000 in interest, and $1.2 million in penalties.

The decision by the California Labor Commissioner’s Office followed the franchise owners’ appeal of a $1.9 million citation originally issued in 2020, which has since accrued interest.

Owners Monu Singh and Harkiran Randhawa are personally being held responsible for the payments.

The former employees claim that Singh and Randhawa knowingly understaffed at least 6 Burger King restaurants under Golden Gate Restaurant Group ownership in an attempt to cut costs. The practices allegedly created unsustainable working conditions for employees, according to the labor commissioner’s investigation.

According to the Labor Commissioner’s Office, the investigation revealed that the violations were not isolated instances that were the fault of rogue supervisors, but part and parcel of a way of operations initiated and/or known by both owners.