Unpaid Overtime Leads to Wage & Hour Lawsuits

Throughout the years, complaints against employers for improper payment methods have increased. Many workers are failing to receive overtime pay or have even been forced to work off the clock to complete work without receiving payment. One such incident that has occurred recently involves a large restaurant chain that is popular in the south, known as Steak ‘n Shake. The two plaintiffs in the unpaid overtime class action lawsuit, Beecher and Cain, are seeking class action status against the employer for several violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Restaurant Reportedly Changed Tip Amounts

Among the chief complaints in the wage and hour class action lawsuit is that the restaurant not only changed the clock-in and clock-out hours on employee time cards, but also inflated the amount of tips that the employees actually received. The reason for the adjustment in the tip amount was to allow Steak ‘n Shake to get away with not having to pay a minimum wage differential, according to the class action lawsuit. The amount that servers get for tips is included with their pay, but employers must ensure that they make minimum wage, otherwise they are subject to paying the differential.

All employees who worked over 40 hours a week – or overtime — had their time cards adjusted, according to the plaintiffs, so that Steak ‘n Shake could avoid paying overtime wages.

FLSA Violations Carry Stiff Penalties

Plaintiffs in the Steak ‘n Shake restaurant class action lawsuit are seeking reimbursement of unpaid wages for overtime and minimum payment adjustments as well as other monetary damages that occurred as a result of FLSA violations.

The restaurant chain is owned by Biglari Holdings Inc. of San Antonio and operates 490 restaurants that are distributed throughout 22 states.

Unfortunately, this happens all too often in restaurants and in the corporate world as numerous wage and hour class action lawsuits have been filed lately alleging that employees are being taken advantage of and suffering through FLSA violations.

Many employees are afraid of retaliation and do not file unpaid overtime lawsuits despite the fact that they are consistently denied pay that they have earned. Instead, they take it as a loss and allow companies to get away with it. Many companies are not typically held responsible for these actions because employees will usually settle to keep the lawsuit from proceeding into court.

Wage & Hour, Unpaid Overtime Legal Help

If you have been a victim of FLSA violations and have been denied overtime or fair pay, you can get more information on how to proceed by visiting our Wage & Hour, Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit Investigation page. Here you will find a brief overview of the FLSA violations that occur as well as the ability to send your information to qualified attorneys who are actively investigating the wage and hour violations. Your claim will be reviewed free of charge and if you have a case, you will contacted for a free, no-obligation consultation about your legal options. The sooner you submit your information, the sooner you could be collecting any unpaid wages if your claim proves to have merit.