Dunkin’ Donuts Violated Federal Overtime Laws, Class Action Says

Plaintiffs in the Dunkin’ Donuts proposed wage and hour class action lawsuit are asking a Massachusetts federal judge to allow for the conditional certification of additional similarly situated employees to the lawsuit, citing federal overtime rules.

The Dunkin’ Donuts ex-managers are suing over allegations that the company misclassified them as exempt from overtime wages.

The request comes after the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the similarly situated employees’ claims were viable.

Plaintiffs Gassan Marzuq and the estate of Lisa Chantre are bringing the putative wage and hour class action lawsuit against Cadete Enterprises Inc., the owner of several Dunkin’ Donuts franchises.  The plaintiffs want to notify all managers that worked at the Cadete Enterprises Inc. during the last two years so that they can have the opportunity to join the wage and hour class action lawsuit.

These managers recently had their wage and hour claims revived when the First Circuit Court of Appeals found that the former managers had a viable Fair Labor Standards Act claim.  This overtime rules decision is a big change for First Circuit precedent which has historically held that fast food managers are not eligible for overtime wages.

In order for the other Dunkin’ Donuts ex-managers to join the wage and hour class action lawsuit their claims must share similar issues of fact and questions of federal overtime laws.

According to the lead plaintiffs in the Dunkin’ Donuts employee class action lawsuit, the ex-managers are similarly situated because each of them were systematically exempted from overtime wage even though they constantly performed nonexempt tasks.

What are Federal Overtime Laws?

Federal overtime laws state that non- exempt employees must be paid minimum wage and overtime pay for any amount of time worked beyond 40 hours a week.  Most employees who work an hourly wage are nonexempt employees.

Under federal overtime laws, exempt employees are not given federal Fair Labor Standards Act protections.  Exempt employees generally perform high level duties in respect to the overall operations of the company.  Exempt employees generally supervise two or more employees, their primary duty is a position of management, and they have genuine input into other employees’ job status,

According to the wage and hour class action lawsuit, the Dunkin’ Donuts managers were constantly performing non exempt work according to federal overtime rules. Their non-exempt tasks included serving doughnuts and cleaning the facility.

The attorney representing the Dunkin’ Donuts ex-managers asserts that this is an important wage and hour class action lawsuit because it opens the door for managers at fast food restaurants to be eligible for overtime pay.

Filing an Wage and Hour Lawsuit

Workers who have been wrongfully denied overtime pay while performing non-exempt work may be eligible to bring a class action lawsuit against their employers for violation of federal overtime laws.  Successful plaintiffs may receive compensation for the wrongful acts of their employers.

Bringing a lawsuit is a big decision that should be made after weighing the facts and circumstances of each individual’s case.  A legal professional can advise potential plaintiffs whether or not bringing a lawsuit is right for them.

The Dunkin’ Donuts Wage and Hour class action lawsuit is Marzuq et al. v Cadete Enterprises Inc. et al., Case No. 1:11-cv-10244, in the United States Court for the District of Massachusetts.

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