Burger King is one of the largest companies with global headquarters in Miami-Dade. Which is, in theory, great for the local economy, but BK's practice of paying its restaurant employees low wages may not be so great for the American economy. A new study estimates that Burger King employees might cost taxpayers $356 million a year.
The report, which breaks down the cost of low-income fast-food workers to public assistance projects by chain, comes from the National Employment Law Project. A significant portion of fast-food workers must rely on government assistance to supplement their low income.
"While payroll data for individual fast-food companies is not publicly available, we estimate that the low-wage business model at the ten largest fast-food companies in the United States costs taxpayers more than $3.8 billion each year," the report states.
Of that amount, $356 million comes from Burger King employees, behind only Subway, Yum! Brands (Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut), and McDonald's. Burger King employs about 208,307 frontline fast-food workers across the country.
The report comes as a nationwide campaign to raise the wages of fast-food workers intensifies.
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