She Has Worked at Subway for Over a Decade. Now She’s Suing for Nearly $54,000 in Stolen Wages.

Eva Rodriguez sits outside a Subway restaurant in Monterey Park, California, one of several owned by her employer. Photos by Jeremy Lindenfeld.

Eva Rodriguez has earned minimum wage at a Subway franchise in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles for more than a decade. She has stocked ingredients, wiped down tables and served thousands of meals in the strip mall shop that is sandwiched between an optical store and a Mediterranean restaurant. Often, she worked 70-hour weeks so her family could afford the basics.

“I’m not someone with a lot of money. I have to fight to eat everyday. I have to fight to have a place to live,” Rodriguez said in Spanish.