Facts

Two class actions were filed against defendant Boston Market Corp. on behalf of non-exempt (hourly) employees, and exempt employees, respectively.

According to the lawsuits, defendant failed on a number of occasions to provide meal and rest periods. The allegations also concerned overtime and off-the-clock work. In a second lawsuit, general managers at defendant's restaurants claimed they were improperly categorized as exempt from overtime pay.

Result

The parties reached a settlement, under which Boston Market could be required to pay a maximum of up to $3.75 million, which would include attorneys' fees and possible payments to employees. Defendant agreed to re-classify its general managers by Dec. 31, 2006, and to pay them for all overtime worked. Further, any employee who misses a meal break will automatically receive one hour of pay in his next paycheck. According to plaintiff, reportedly defendants paid out an additional $60,000 to their hourly employees for non-compliant mean breaks in the first two weeks following installation of the new time keeping system. Defendant also agreed to provide training on employee rights to meal and rest breaks. Any written material regarding these rights will be provided in both Spanish and English.