Outback Agrees to Pay Workers $3M in Wage and Hour Lawsuit

In a win for hourly employees, Outback Steakhouse’s parent company agreed to pay $3 million to settle a wage and hour class action lawsuit that alleged employees were asked to donate unpaid hours to the company that were nicknamed “Outback Time.”

The three-year fight came to an end Tuesday, April 19 in a Nevada federal court.

UPDATE July 25, 2016: The Outback Steakhouse settlement details can be found here.

According to the federal Fair Labor and Standards Act (FLASA), federal overtime laws state that employers must pay overtime to employees who work more than 40 hours in a given work week unless they meet certain criteria.

Most states have additional wage and hour laws to further protect employees from being denied due compensation.

As employers have felt the squeeze on their pocket books by new federal laws over the last several years, the number of class action lawsuits accusing employers of violating wage and hour laws has increased.

Employers Can’t Ask for Donated Time Off the Clock

No matter what they call it, working for no pay is illegal if you are an hourly paid employee.

Outback Steakhouse allegedly asked hosts, bartenders, and other employees at locations nationwide to begin working during a pre-shift period of time that was called “Outback Time,” according to the complaint filed by a group of former Outback employees in a wage and hour class action lawsuit filed in 2013.

Some employees also allegedly were required to clock out even though their supervisor intended for those employees to continue working off the clock.

Unfortunately, thousands of employees in the United States work off the clock in situations that find them conducting work on unrecorded time, from attending meetings during off-work hours to completing projects during lunch breaks.

The FSLA has specific wage and hour rules that pertain to servers and bartenders. They must use less than 20% of their time for non-tipped tasks such as prepping their work stations.

The FSLA will also find an employer in violation if the employer asks a tipped employee who is earning a reduced pay rate to take over cleaning the restrooms or perform other duties that are unrelated to the position for which the person was initially hired.

Who Can Work Off the Clock?

FLSA clearly states in its federal overtime laws that employees who are nonexempt are considered hourly employees who must be paid overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours a week.

In addition to asking employees to donate work time, some employers also have illegally classified job positions as exempt in order to avoid paying overtime.

Exempt employees are those who do not fall under the FSLA’s definition of those requiring overtime pay. Examples of exempt employees are administrative or executives, some computer professionals, and some retail or outside sales workers.

However, the exempt classification is open to abuse by employers who wish to sidestep the FSLA laws requiring overtime pay to nonexempt workers.

According to the FLSA, no specific job title allows a position to be categorized as exempt unless it meets specific criteria, including but not limited to the following:

• Earn more than $23,600 per year ($455 per week)
• Perform exempt executive job duties such as the regular supervision of two or more employees; also have management as the primary duty of the position; also have some genuine input into the job status of other employees (the hiring, firing, promotions, or assignments.)

Time Could Be Running Out

The statute of limitations for FSLA wage and hour violations is two to three years.

If you suspect that your employer or former employer has violated federal overtime laws or asked you to work off the clock, it is imperative you speak to a lawyer to find out if joining a wage and hour class action lawsuit against that employer would be in your best interest.

Join a Free Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay within the past 3 years, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.

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