Restaurant workers for Captain D’s LLC., a seafood restaurant chain, filed a putative class action wage and overtime lawsuit in Tennessee federal court recently. The seafood chain employees claim the company violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Tennessee state wage law when it failed to pay for all the time they worked. The workers are seeking back pay and damages.
The Overtime Claim
Tammy Dunham, a former assistant manager, filed her complaint on behalf of herself and other similarly situated employees who have worked for the company over the last six years. She claims the company intentionally failed to pay minimum wage and overtime pay when hourly employees worked more than 40 hours each week. The employees allegedly were regularly allowed to work through their meal breaks. Federal and state laws require employers who offer meal breaks to provide a minimum of 30 minutes of duty-free time.
Off The Clock Claims
Employees were also allegedly allowed to work off the clock. In Dunham’s claim, she alleges she complained to her supervisor about the off-the-clock work, but no corrective actions were taken. Dunham believes this inaction after receiving notice of the violations indicates the company willfully violated the FLSA and state laws. Moreover, instead of adjusting the workers’ pay to meet minimum wage, Captain D’s allegedly choose to profit from their employees’ unpaid work. For this, Dunham added a claim of unjust enrichment to the class action.
Employer’s Next Step
Captain D’s now must disprove its employees’ claims either in its answer to the claims or through the litigation process. But it is believed the company also failed to maintain proper records of employee time. This may make it difficult for Captain D’s to show that employees were proper paid, breaks were duty-free, and that if overtime was earned it was paid.
However, the employees believe the company has enough information that, through discovery in the litigation process, the employees will be able to prove they were not paid for all of their time. They also believe the information Captain D’s provides during discovery will give the employees a more specific amount to request in back pay and damages to meet court standards for specificity in a claim.
If you are a restaurant chain employee with Captain D’s or another chain, you are entitled to at least minimum wage and, depending on the number of hours you work each shift, a duty-free break. If you believe your employer has denied you these rights, contact our experienced team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 to discuss your situation. Or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our experienced legal team will evaluate your case. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.