McDonald’s Settles Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit for $1.5M

A federal judge has announced that McDonald’s has settled a wage and hour class action lawsuit filed by a group of workers for $1.5 million.

The McDonald’s employees claimed in their wage and hour lawsuit that they were not given adequate compensation for the time and costs linked with cleaning work uniforms.

U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis approved the $1.5 million wage and hour settlement, saying that common class action issues were much more apparent than individual issues.

The McDonald’s wage and hour class action lawsuit centered on one issue – that McDonald’s required workers to perform maintenance on their uniforms outside of paid work hours without compensation.

Filed by lead plaintiff Tasha Beard in March 2014, the wage and hour lawsuit claimed that McDonald’s required uniform maintenance from their employees, but failed to compensate them properly for this off the clock work.

McDonald’s response was that, because workers should be able to wash their uniforms with the rest of their clothing, it should not be required to pay for this work. The company denies any and all liability for the claims in this lawsuit.

Members of this wage and hour class action lawsuit are current and former McDonald’s employees who worked particular hourly positions in New York restaurants between March 13, 2008 and the upcoming approval date of the settlement.

The settlement originally included a confidentiality provision, but when another judge took issue with this provision, McDonald’s submitted an updated version without this provision.

Shortly afterward, Judge Garaufis preliminarily approved the $1.5 million wage and hour settlement.

This is not the first of wage and hour lawsuit McDonald’s has faced over its uniform maintenance requirements. Other wage and hour lawsuits also included allegations that the company failed to give adequate pay for the time that workers spend waiting off the clock.

Wage and Hour Lawsuits

Many workers do not know the specifics of their rights under federal labor laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA.

The relationship between a worker and their employer is complicated, and some workers who believe that their employer is treating them unfairly may not even feel comfortable speaking up.

Workers are often afraid that they will lose their job if they confront an employer or pursue a wage and hour lawsuit. However, laws are in place that protect employees from unfair discrimination by employers.

The Fair Labor Standards Act was enacted to protect workers from employers who take advantage or refuse to pay proper wages.

These federal labor laws protect workers from underpayment or unpaid wages, inadequate or unpaid meal and rest breaks, lack of termination wages, and misclassification of workers to avoid overtime payment.

If you or someone you know has worked for an employer such as McDonald’s that has failed to follow some part of the Fair Labor Standards Act or state labor laws, you may be able to join a wage and hour class action lawsuit or file a lawsuit of your own.

The McDonald’s Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit is Tasha Beard et al. v. McDonald’s Corp. et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-01664, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

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