Employer record, U.S. Labor Department investigations

Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits Wage and Hour Cases in California

Benjamin Eghbali, Esq.Legal notes by Benjamin Eghbali, Esq.

Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits: 4 investigations, $76,741 in back wages for 20 workers, latest closed Apr 28, 2023.

Every federal wage and hour case closed in California since 2004 and a handful before: 30,596 investigations, 23,910 employers, $472,441,289 in back wages for 335,130 workers.

Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits wage and hour record at a glance

Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits appears in 4 concluded Wage and Hour Division investigations in California, closed between Jan 11, 2010 and Apr 28, 2023. 2 of them found violations, 24 in all, and the employer agreed to pay $76,741 in back wages to 20 workers, with no civil money penalty assessed. Of the back wages, $76,571 was unpaid overtime and $170 unpaid minimum wage under the federal standard. The largest single case closed Mar 13, 2017 in Vallejo with $55,188 for 7 workers. That places the employer at #1,205 of 23,910 California employers in the database by back wages.

Industry as coded by the Division: Limited-Service Restaurants. Laws involved: FLSA.

Every case, newest first

Case closedPeriod investigatedCityFindingsBack wagesWorkers paidPenaltiesLaws
Apr 28, 2023Apr 2021 to Apr 2023Los Angelesno violations found000
Nov 29, 2017Nov 2015 to Nov 2017North Highlandsno violations found000
Mar 13, 2017Mar 2015 to Mar 2017Vallejo8 violations$55,18870FLSA
Jan 11, 2010Jan 2008 to Jan 2010Pacoima16 violations$21,553130FLSA

Also filed as: Marok and Cheema, Inc.; Zangeer Food Corporation Inc; Ariana Fast Food, Inc.; Amirian Management Company.

Local pages: Los Angeles employment lawyer, Vallejo employment lawyer.

How to read this record

Each row is one federal investigation. Period investigated is the span of payroll the Division reviewed, usually two years back from the complaint. Back wages is what the employer agreed to pay for that period at the federal rate; penalties went to the government, not to workers.

Back wages computed under the federal law are usually a fraction of the California number for the same hours: the state minimum is $16.90 in 2026, overtime starts after 8 hours in a day, and each missed meal or rest period adds an hour of pay. Workers paid in these cases may still be owed that difference, and the federal release form covers only the federal claim.

Full explainer: what a Labor Department case is, and what it is not.

If you work, or worked, at Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits

Pull together your pay stubs and your own record of hours for the last three years, request your pay records in writing (the employer has 21 days under Labor Code 226), and keep any WH-58 receipt from a Labor Department payment. A free review tells you in one call whether the California numbers exceed what was paid, whether break premiums and waiting time penalties apply, and whether anything that happened after you complained counts as retaliation. Call (800) 371-3088 or send your stubs.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division enforcement database, California cases. Record last checked Oct 30, 2026. Back to the wage theft tracker.

About this data: Cases come from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division enforcement database (WHD compliance actions concluded since fiscal year 2005, California employers only), published by the Department of Labor and reloaded here every month. "Back wages" are amounts the employer agreed to pay at the close of the investigation; "penalties" are civil money penalties assessed. An investigation that found no violation is listed as such. The database does not include California Labor Commissioner cases or private lawsuits. This page is general information, not legal advice about your situation.

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