The owner of 14 Subway restaurants throughout the Bay Area has been cited for numerous violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act after investigators found that he paid employees more than $265,000 in bounced checks, in addition to ordering staff as young as 14 and 15 years old to work hours longer and later than permitted by law and to operate dangerous equipment, leading them to suffer from burns and other injuries.
In a preliminary federal court injunction announced Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said it is forbidding John Michael Meza from violating child labor laws, threatening and retaliating against workers and obstructing a federal investigation. Meza was also accused of failing to pay wages regularly, keeping tips intended for his staff and threatening workers who cooperated with authorities once an investigation was underway.
“Our investigators learned this Subway franchisee directed young teenagers to operate ovens, toasters, cardboard balers and other equipment, all of which are considered dangerous jobs,” Assistant District Director Alberto Raymond with the Wage and Hour Division in San Francisco said in a statement. “The court has ordered the employer to stop jeopardizing the safety and well-being of minor-aged workers, to pay workers as the law requires and to ensure that workers can participate in our investigation without fear.”
The Subway restaurants operated by Meza and involved in the case include:
– Antioch — 2777 Lone Tree Way
– Clayton — 1026 Oak St., Suite 103
– Concord — 301 Sun Valley Mall
– Cotati — 8500 Gravenstein Highway, Unit B
– Napa — 2375 California Blvd.
– Napa — 3214 Jefferson St.
– Napa — 902 Enterprise Way, Unit A
– Petaluma — 2620 Lakeville Highway, Unit 320
– Petaluma — 221 N. McDowell Blvd.
– Petaluma — 961 Lakeville Highway
– San Pablo — 13501 San Pablo Ave.
– Santa Rosa — 124-B Calistoga Road
– Vallejo — 199 Lincoln Road West, C
– Windsor — 6400 Hembree Lane, Unit 100
The Press Democrat initially reported on the wage theft allegations in March, speaking with three San Antonio High School students who worked at the Petaluma location at 961 Lakeville Highway. The teenagers alleged that their paychecks were either substantially delayed or withheld entirely and said their payroll manager was also tracking when and how long they were taking breaks with cameras that would flash a red light whenever they ate or used the restroom. Additionally, the employees raised concerns over unsanitary conditions at the Subway locations, including “cockroaches, yellowing walls and refrigerators that remained out of commission for up to three weeks,” the outlet reported.
“The preliminary injunction we obtained is one tool we will use to prevent further exploitation and intimidation of young, vulnerable workers,” San Francisco-based Regional Solicitor of Labor Marc Pilotin said in a statement. “The department will take expeditious legal action when workers’ safety is threatened and when their employers intimidate them or otherwise attempt to obstruct an investigation.”
The court ordered Meza, his wife Jessica Leyva Meza and associate Hamza Ayesh, as well as Meza’s Brentwood-based companies MZS Enterprises LLC and Crave Brands LLC, to reimburse employees for the bounced paychecks going back to 2019, as well as any bad check fees charged to staff from their respective financial institutions.