The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a preliminary federal court injunction forbidding the operator of 14 Bay Area Subway sandwich shops — including six in Sonoma County — from violating child labor laws, threatening and retaliating against workers, and obstructing a federal investigation.
The Labor Department’s action against John Michael Meza and his corporations, Crave Brands LLC and MZS Enterprises LLC, was granted by Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on May 19.
The injunction, announced by the agency Thursday, follows a March Press Democrat investigation into allegations of wage theft and unsafe working conditions at the local restaurants.
“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 of the department’s Wage and Hour Division said in the agency’s announcement.
“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 Press Democrat’s initial reporting detailed allegations by local teenagers that Meza and his companies failed to pay employees on time, bounced checks, illegally withheld tips, denied bathroom breaks and forced workers as young as 15 to work alone at three restaurants in Petaluma and one each in Santa Rosa, Windsor and Cotati.
The Department of Labor’s announcement confirmed those accusations, and added others.
Raymond’s division cited Meza for numerous violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act related to the payment of wages, child labor, record keeping, retaliation against employees and obstruction of a federal investigation.
The agency said Meza and his companies owed $265,294 in outstanding wages.
“I think it’s good, because they’re getting what they deserve,” said Yanelli Vargas, one of the students at San Antonio High School in Petaluma who spoke to The Press Democrat in March. “It’s not fair what they’re doing to people. The karma came back to them.”
The timing of the federal agency’s announcement couldn’t be better, according to Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez. Her office has set up a hotline for county residents to report wage theft: 1-833-33WAGES. It goes live Friday.
Rodriguez’s office is still evaluating a potential case against Meza and his companies, she said.
“I don’t think we are precluded from pursuing this criminally, but we need to find out more information to see what exactly state and federal agencies have filed before we make a determination on whether we file criminal charges — and assuming there was a crime, of course,” Rodriguez said.
A bill signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in September 2021 defined wage theft of more than $950 from any one employee in a 12-month period, or $2,350 from multiple employees, a grand theft.
The injunction against Meza indicates the government’s interest in making sure he and his associates don’t hide assets that might be used to pay wage-theft victims. They are prohibited from moving funds outside of paying necessary business expenses, and they must notify the Department of Labor regarding the sale of any real estate properties.
Meza’s wife, Jessica Meza, is listed as owner of a 4,400-square-foot house in Brentwood, in Contra Costa County. In 2022, it was assessed at $1.3 million.
In 2011, John Meza was sentenced in Contra Costa County Superior Court to 120 days in jail and $163,000 in fines for two felony counts related to tax evasion. He and Jessica were accused of failing to pay taxes on $800,000 in income, and opening a bank account using fake Social Security numbers to hide earnings.
With the current investigation, the Wage and Hour Division alleges that Meza interfered with its investigation by coercing employees not to cooperate with investigators, and threatening children who raised concerns or tried to exercise their legal rights.
During their review, federal investigators determined several Subway workers had suffered burns and other injuries.
The injunction also names Jessica Meza and associate Hamza Ayesh, who acted as the primary business contact for employees. The teenagers interviewed by The Press Democrat knew him as Mike Ayesh.
Their other Subway franchises, according to the Labor Department, are in Napa (where they have three), Vallejo, San Pablo, Concord, Antioch and Clayton.