Taco Bell Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit to Proceed

A California federal judge has denied a motion by Taco Bell to dismiss a proposed unpaid overtime class action lawsuit brought by two former employees who accuse the fast-food chain of failing to pay overtime, minimum wage, and providing proper meal breaks.

In a scathing denial decision, U.S. District Court Magistrate Stanley A. Boone writes that Taco Bell’s pleading, in which lawyers for the chain asked for dismissal or, in the alternative, to strike portions of the Third Amended Consolidated Complaint, “is without merit and is denied.”

In 2007, plaintiffs Sandrika M., a Taco Bell shift manager, and Lisa H., a former Taco Bell crew member, filed the unpaid overtime class action lawsuit, accusing the chain of violating California labor codes as they pertain to California minimum wage, the payment of overtime wages and the provision of meal and rest breaks.

The judge admonished Taco Bell about its repeated attempts to stall the wage and hour lawsuit, which has been pending since September 2007.

“This action has languished on the Court’s docket for over seven years and not because of any inherent complexity in the facts or the legal issues,” the judge wrote. “As pointed out by this Court on prior occasions, this action must proceed to an adjudication of the claims and defenses on the merits. Absent good cause, this action will proceed as scheduled and the Court is presently unwilling to extend any dates or deadlines because the parties waste their time and resources raising frivolous motions. Any further frivolous legal arguments raised by the parties in this action will be met with swift sanctions. Therefore, any future response to any motion shall also include evidence regarding the responding party’s time and rate should the court find the motion to be frivolous and justifying the imposition of sanctions.”

More Taco Bell Labor Law Violations

In 2013, Taco Bell reached a $2.5 million settlement in an unpaid overtime class action lawsuit. Employees in that case accused Taco Bell of wrongly categorizing assistant general managers as supervisors – making them exempt from overtime pay — in order to keep from having to pay the additional money.

Despite the title of an exempt supervisor, these employees were required to perform the duties of lower-level workers such as cooking, bussing tables, cleaning, checking inventory and supplies and running the cash registers, according to that unpaid overtime lawsuit. Taco Bell also allegedly failed to keep accurate records including employees’ weekly earnings and shift assignments.

The wage and hour lawsuit settlement will provide an average payout of about $5,000 to the hundreds of assistant general managers who opted into the employee class action lawsuit.

The 6,500 Taco Bell restaurants across the country serve more than 2 billion customers annually. More than 80 percent of the restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees. Taco Bell is headquartered in Irvine, Calif.

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