BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — A class action overtime pay lawsuit brought by associate managers working at New York Cracker Barrel locations has reached a settlement and has been dismissed recently. The associate managers alleged Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. misclassified their positions as exempt under New York labor law and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and denied them the overtime wages to which they were entitled. Even though the parties have reached a settlement agreement, it has not been fully finalized. If it is not finalized or consummated within 90 days, the federal judge presiding over the case will allow either party to request the case be reopened.
Associate Manager Claims
Kenneth Proper filed his lawsuit in April 2014 in New York federal court. Proper has been an associate manager in upstate New York since January 2013. According to his claim, he and other similarly situated associate managers would regularly work at least 50 hours each work week, yet they were not provided overtime pay. He alleged salaried associate managers were misclassified as exempt from overtime, despite the fact that associate managers routinely performed tasks similar to that of hourly, non-exempt employees. In the lawsuit, Proper claimed associate managers would regularly perform tasks like bussing tables, preparing food, checking inventory, and waiting tables. In many cases, according to Proper, associate managers did not have the authority to make decisions regarding scheduling, hiring and firing, or other managerial matters. Because the associate managers lacked the authority and primarily performed non-managerial tasks, Proper alleged the associate managers did not meet the definition of a manager under either state or federal labor laws.
Proper also claimed the company violated further state labor laws when it failed to reimburse the associate managers when they used their personal vehicles to transport goods between restaurant locations.
Class Actions and Subclasses
Class actions are lawsuits intended to address a single or small number of alleged violations which potentially affected a large number of individuals. The intent is to reduce the time and expense of defending multiple claims and to avoid numerous different outcomes. If the individuals suffered similar damages and a settlement or court ordered award can address all of the damages at once, the courts will typically allow a class action to move forward.
In some cases, class actions need to be broken into smaller subclasses in order to properly address the needs and damages of the different groups of individuals or the different violations. In this case, the lawsuit included allegations of both state and federal labor law violations and proposed two subclasses: one for the state violations and one for the federal violations. The federal subclass potentially includes associate managers at Cracker Barrel locations across the country, while the state subclass would only include New York employees. Class members may be part of both subclasses and, depending on the terms of the settlement, could opt into or out of each subclass settlement.
If you believe you have been wrongfully classified as exempt or have questions about your rights in a class action overtime settlement, our experienced team of overtime pay lawyers can help. Contact our knowledgeable overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 or you may complete our Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form.