Sen. Napoleon Harris owes thousands to ex-employees, records show

I-TEAM INVESTIGATION

Chuck Goudie Image
ByChuck Goudie WLS logo
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Napoleon Harris owes thousands to ex-employees
Labor Department records show that Harris' company "failed to properly pay 40 employees" a total of more than $23,000.

A well-known Illinois politician, who is planning to run for the U.S. Senate, is at odds with some of his former pizza business employees for non-payment, the I-Team has learned.



Napoleon Harris, a former NFL star and now south suburban state senator, has underpaid dozens of employees of his pizza restaurants, according to Illinois regulators. The former employees said Harris illegally paid them less than the minimum wage and that they are now owed thousands of dollars.



"I opened a business Beggars Pizza franchise right there in Harvey because growing up we didn't have an opportunity to go sit down and eat as a family," the freshman senator said in March 2012.



In 2012, the former Northwestern University star athlete and first-round NFL draft pick, became a rising political star when he was elected to the senate from Harvey, on a platform of economic growth. His success story helped him get elected and the pizza franchise even butts up to his political office in Harvey.



However, in a record obtained by the I-Team, the Labor Department determined that Harris' company "failed to properly pay 40 employees" a total of more than $23,000.



"He owed me, $3,691 is what he owed me, underpaid me for two years while I worked there," said ex-employee Reginald Parha. "I was just fed up with him trying to get one over on me so I did some research and I found the state of Illinois Department of Labor and I wrote them a letter."



So how much was a delivery driver and dish washer paid?



"It was $5 an hour and then you know whatever tips you would get throughout the day," said former employee Ryan Animashaun



Animashaun, a former pizzeria worker now living in Florida, said he didn't realize Harris owed him $1,500 until state regulators called.



"It crossed my mind as far as the hours and what we were doing," Animashaun said. "But no, until they contacted us and brought us in and showed us numbers."



The employees were contacted in 2013, after Harris was elected state senator, and when he was told to repay the employees.



Animashaun said he has not yet been paid.



Last Thursday in Springfield, Harris pitched himself to Democratic leaders as a candidate for the U.S. Senate.



"I have a strong business background and I, in my own personal opinion, I believe I understand the issues as it relates to the issues of the streets of Chicago and the streets of Illinois," Harris said last week.



Friday, the I-Team began contacting Harris to discuss payment to his former employees. Despite numerous calls, emails and faxes, Harris' attorney said he would not do an interview-even though the matter has been turned over to the Illinois attorney general for enforcement.



On Tuesday, Harris sent a statement: "Ensuring the citizens of Illinois receive a fair wage is an issue I take very seriously. I would never knowingly deny anyone his or her right to fair compensation. As a Public Servant, Business Owner or Citizen, it has always been important to me that the workers of Illinois are paid a fair and sufficient wage. My record as a State Senator reflects this. My life experiences embody this. In the event that my business is not in full compliance, these alleged issues will be addressed and resolved."



Parham said seeing Harris elected to public office despite his non-payment, is frustrating.



"You are under paying everybody," he said. "You are not helping, you are hurting everybody. And for him to come and win Illinois senate after that it was just appalling to me. It makes my blood boil. Yeah, it does."


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