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Cracker Barrel minimum wage class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Catherine D. Frederick filed a class action lawsuit against Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.
- Why: Frederick claims Cracker Barrel violated the law by allegedly paying its workers below the federal minimum wage.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Tennessee federal court.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store failed to compensate its restaurant employees during all their work hours, causing their pay to be below the legal minimum wage, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
Plaintiff Catherine D. Frederick claims Cracker Barrel failed to compensate its employees for “off the clock” work before and after their shifts — work she argues they were required and encouraged to complete, in an alleged violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Cracker Barrel has a policy of paying tipped employees under the federal minimum wage for their hourly base pay, before combining their tips with their hourly pay to meet compensation requirements set by the FLSA, according to the Cracker Barrel class action.
Frederick argues Cracker Barrel, thus, owes its employees the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for all the hours they worked when performing “dual occupation” duties that led to them allegedly being underpaid, the Cracker Barrel class action states.
“The … unpaid wage claims of Plaintiff and those similarly situated are unified through common theories of Defendant’s FLSA violations,” the Cracker Barrel class action states.
Cracker Barrel commonly required tipped employees to perform non-tip-producing tasks, class action says
Frederick claims Cracker Barrel also had a “common plan, policy and practice” requiring tipped workers to perform unrelated and non-tip-producing tasks while clocked in as tipped employees, putting their wages under the legal minimum wage.
Frederick wants to represent a nationwide class of individuals who have worked at a Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurant during the applicable limitations period for claims under the FLSA.
“Defendant has violated the FLSA and thereby enjoyed ill-gained profits at the expense of Plaintiff and those similarly situated,” the Cracker Barrel class action states.
Plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requesting an award of compensation for unpaid wages along with liquidated damages for herself and all class members.
A similar class action lawsuit was filed against Boston Market late last month over claims the restaurant failed to pay the legal minimum wage and overtime to employees at its Arizona locations.
Have you worked as a tipped employee at a Cracker Barrel Old Country Store? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by Gordon E. Jackson, J. Russ Bryant and James L. Holt Jr. of Jackson, Shields, Yeiser, Holt Owen & Bryant.
The Cracker Barrel minimum wage class action lawsuit is Frederick, et al. v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc., Case No. 3:23-cv-00813, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
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12 thoughts onCracker Barrel lawsuit claims restaurant failed to pay tipped employees minimum wage
Uh, I still work here and have brought up many times we should be paid minimum wage.. I am still paid $5 an hour to stay after and clean. After taxes, it’s $2 and some change an hour, a week of pay is $80
Been working for Cracker Barrel for 25 years and they used to make us roll 8 pounds of silverware at night after we’re closed for a long time and then when we would slow down they would make a scrub walls and what not. Yes it has happened to me.
I’m disabled and was working 9 days in a town at 10/11 hour days
Same here in Illinois multiple job codes tipped wages and they scrupulous quit scheduling hourly workers in many positions for/ for the tipped employees to do
Yes!!
I was employed at cracker barrel in Murfreesboro tn. I was a witness to Katherine’s termination and was employed with her. My situation is a little different but i wish to be added to the class action suit and also file one myself for discrimination and wrongful termination. I was asked to do things against store policy and against the law by management. At some point in time I had an issue with Steven a assistant manager at the store concerning guest service, he disagreed with me. The following day I came to work at 7 am at which time Steven was waiting with a manager in training an wrongfully terminated me. That is against store policy to fire me with a manager in training it must be 2 managers. I contacted corporate office Mr. Don Vanek who did a investigation and found I was wrongfully terminated he immediately reversed my status in the system from unhireable to hireable. There is evidence of all of this. I reapplied at store 13 music valley and the first manager I spoke to waS Q and she hired me on the spot. Days later I was told that they couldn’t bring me on board until they found out the issue that happened at the previous store regardless of hiring status. I came in today 12/12 after being called in for an interview by q and another manager to sit down with the GM Andy he refused to be present during my interview. I waited for an hour to speak to him I was scheduled to speak to him at 2:15. After sitting for more than an hour Q came to tell me that ” he doesn’t want to hire you because you contacted the corporate office.” I called about hour after leaving to talk to q or another manager to get a final decision and they refused to answer the phone during the first call they hung up on me and the second time they refused to take the calls. I have video log of the last two calls and the situation which was witnessed by a friend Mr. Jonathan Boyd.
Same here. Doing multiple positions for server pay. It’s ridiculous. A coworker and I will be reaching out to a lawyer to start a case.
I have been an employee at Cracker Barrel for 5 years. I have been an Employee Training Coordinator and a Server. As the employee training coordinator I have seen so many unprofessional things done by the managers. I have watched my own hours be shaved because I had overtime. And the managers there aren’t worried about their employees but only worried about their numbers and their bonus’s. I have watched people stay in the computer that has not worked there in forever and be clocked in for an hour or so each month so that those managers look like their turnover rates aren’t bad. I have seen $10.00 and $12.00 an hour employees be aloud to stay clocked in and make that amount and serve tables just so they had servers. The veteran employees are treated more poorly then anyone and the frustrations from the managers are usually almost always taken out on the servers. There is so much wrong going on there it isn’t funny. And no matter how many times you call corporate or employee relations nothing is done about it. It’s so bad that I decided to sell my home just so I can get away from that place.
I am s disabled person working for them. I can tell you several pay, schedule, working conditions snd environment, seating and civil rights violations and resulting retaliation that is occurring.
Still are staying hours after scheduled time out. Still have Mac duties, Still cleaning, Still waiting on tips after clocked out. Still preparing desserts,
making baked potatoes doing prep postions job….Still bussing tables… still having to host here and there..also we portion cocktail ..tarter sauce, apple butter ,chow chow…needs portions in small tiny souffle cups, which is about 2 teaspoon size… takes about 30 45 min to do a whole large can of apple butter… would think that would be preps job. Didn’t use to be that way..but takes alot of time, to do after you are cut off server board… call that a sidework…. we still roll silverware, and usualkt have to go back and sort the silverware in the dish room..we are held hour or more after scheduled time out..never get out they are still seating us up to the last min of our scheduled time out, every night..sometimes it’s hour or more over scheduled time out. Before we are even cut off the floor.. We are not ask,
Add me cause I was an employee at that time
I still work for Cracker Barrel still doing side, work, rolling silverware, and servers Still working for Cracker Barrel still doing side work and silverware and servers pay Sometimes it takes me an hour or two hours just to finish and get out after my shift is done.