ORLANDO — A District Court in Florida recently decertified a collective action wage and overtime lawsuit against Darden Restaurants Inc., the parent company for restaurant chains Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, the Capital Grille, and Yard House. The lawsuit alleges the company required unpaid off-the-clock work and illegally took tip credit for non-tip work, both of which violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Although the employees can no longer take part in the collective action, the court’s decertification decision does not prevent the employees from bringing individual claims.
The Employees’ Claims
More than 218,000 servers and bartenders were eligible to opt-in to the lawsuit, which was filed in 2012. Over 20,000 employees, working in nearly 2,000 restaurants across the country, opted-in to the lawsuit before the decertification. In their claim, the servers and bartenders contend that, despite maintaining automated time-clock systems, the restaurants denied them full and proper wages for their work.
Alleged methods for bypassing the automated system included preventing employees from clocking in for a shift until the first customer arrived, requiring employees to clock out prior to finishing assigned work, and not paying the appropriate amount for overtime work. The servers also alleged that tipped and non-tipped work was not properly recorded, which resulted in their receiving sub-minimum wage pay for non-tipped work. Non-tipped work includes cleaning and other preparatory tasks. Tipped wages are significantly lower, but must reach the minimum wage when combined with earned tips.
The Court’s Decision
The court granted conditional certification to the servers and bartenders. However, after greater discovery, the court determined that the class members’ claims and specific circumstances were too varied for a collective action, and a single trial could not fairly and equitably address all the injuries and violations. The court cited the fact that each state’s labor laws differ, and individual chains and restaurants maintained different policies and practices. In addition, employees’ job titles and responsibilities were not uniform, nor were the employees’ claims, claim combinations, or length of time affected by the alleged violations. As a result, a collective decision would lead to unfair recovery or require multiple subclasses, which in turn would defeat the purpose of a collective action.
As the court’s decision indicates, situations exist where filing an individual lawsuit for unpaid overtime wages is better than filing a class action. Our experienced team of overtime pay lawyers will evaluate your situation and discuss with you your options. Contact us today at (855) 754-2795 or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. You will not be billed for legal fees or other costs unless you receive a settlement.