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By Sandra Pedicini
July 21, 2013

Up to 300,000 current and former Darden Restaurants employees will be invited to join a lawsuit filed against the company last year alleging it underpaid servers.

A federal judge earlier this month granted what’s called “conditional certification of a nationwide class” in the lawsuit, filed last year in Miami. Orlando-based Darden is being required to provide names and addresses of people who worked as servers and bartenders between Sept. 6, 2009, and Sept. 6, 2012, for several of its brands, including Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse. Those people will be notified they have the right to join the lawsuit, said David Lichter, an attorney for the employees.

“It will be some fraction of that” 300,000 who will actually opt to join, Lichter said.

Darden said in an email it is relatively easy to get the initial certification that the plaintiffs’ attorneys received. Darden is pursuing decertification, which if granted means that those employees invited to join the lawsuit would be dismissed from it. They could pursue claims on their own, though.

“We follow the law and believe these allegations are baseless and not at all reflective of how we operate our business,” Darden said in an emailed statement.

The lawsuit, which currently has more than 50 plaintiffs, accuses Darden of forcing employees to work off the clock.

Sonny’s updates image
Winter Park-based Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q is updating its image – starting with a new name. The company is now simply Sonny’s BBQ.

It also will start using a new logo, which boasts “local pitmasters since ’68.” The company said its restaurants will start getting new décor, too.

New restaurants coming to The Grove
Several new restaurants will open in the second phase of Tavistock Development Co.’s expansion ofThe Grove at Isleworth. Dexter’s, Jeremiah’s Italian Ice and BurgerFi will all open at the center, which will have 200,000 square feet when completed.

Tijuana Flats introduces Braille menus
Tijuana Flats has added Braille menus at its 93 restaurants.

The Maitland-based restaurant chain said the menus came about after a suggestion from employees atSocial Ventures in Jacksonville, which creates jobs for people with disabilities. Some of its employees are blind.

Darden expands in Latin America
Darden Restaurants recently signed agreements to operate more restaurants in Latin America.

Grupo Piramide will develop Darden’s Red Lobster, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse brands in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Dosil S.A. will develop the concepts in Peru. Both of the new franchisees already operate other American casual-dining and quick-service restaurants.

With these new agreements, Darden will have operations in 12 markets throughout Latin America. Darden recently signed a deal with International Meal Company, which will operate Red Lobster, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse in Brazil, Colombia, Panama and the Dominican Republic. Darden has also had franchisees in Mexico and Puerto Rico for some time.

Grupo Piramide operates American brands such as Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut and Wendy’s. It has a total of 662 restaurants and more than 19,000 employees.

Dosil S.A. runs Chili’s, Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut and Burger King. It has a total of 302 restaurants and 11,000 employees.

By: Paul Brinkmann
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Miami-based law firm Higer Lichter & Givner is one of three firms that filed a proposed class action overtime lawsuit Wednesday against all restaurant chains owned by Darden Restaurants, including The Capital Grille, Longhorn Steakhouse, Olive Garden and Red Lobster.

Darden is considered the world’s largest full-service restaurant group, with almost 170,000 employees.

The suit, on behalf of two plaintiffs, alleges servers were paid less than the minimum wage and were not compensated for time they were required to work off the clock.

The suit was filed in South Florida on behalf of Amanda Mathis, a Florida resident and former server at several Longhorn Steakhouse locations, and James Hamilton, a Virginia resident and former Olive Garden server in Georgia.

It alleges that Darden (NYSE: DRI) violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying many of its servers below the applicable minimum wage, which can be as low as $2.13 an hour for tipped work and $7.25 an hour for non-tipped work. It also alleges that servers were required to work off the clock at the beginning and end of their shifts.

Darden spokesman Rich Jeffers said in an emailed statement that the company complies with labor laws and takes claims of impropriety seriously, but had never heard of the complaints from the plaintiffs specifically.

“We have a robust dispute resolution program designed to quickly and effectively address any employee concerns. We have no record of either of these two individuals utilizing that process,” Jeffers said. “As for the allegations contained in the complaint, we believe they are baseless and fly in the face of our values and how we operate our business.”

Attorney David Lichter said he believes the suit is the first to name all Darden’s restaurants.

The proposed class would be current or former servers employed at any time from August 2009 to the present.

The other plaintiff firms are New York-based Trief & Olk and New Jersey-based Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf.

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* Lawsuit claims company underpays restaurant workers
* Darden is among the largest U.S. restaurant operators
* Company has called the lawsuit “baseless”

MIAMI, Nov 16 (Reuters) – A lawsuit alleging Darden Restaurants, Inc violated U.S. labor laws by underpaying servers at its Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains and other eateries has been expanded to include dozens of new plaintiffs, a lawyer said on Friday.

The suit, filed in September in federal court in Miami, accuses one of the largest restaurant operators of failing to pay federally mandated minimum wages and forcing its waiters and waitresses to work “off-the-clock” before or after their shifts.

The original lawsuit named two plaintiffs, but now includes more than 50, said David Lichter of Higer Lichter & Givner, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs.

“Since we filed the lawsuit, we’ve had a tidal wave of inquiries from across the country,” he said.

Filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the lawsuit also claims many employees at Darden’s restaurants failed to receive appropriate overtime wages for work in excess of 40 hours per week.

A Darden spokesman declined to comment on Friday. In September, a company official called the accusations “baseless” and said they “fly in the face of our values and how we operate our business.”

The lawsuit seeks to collectively represent thousands of current or former employees dating back to August 2009 at Darden’s restaurants that include: Olive Garden, Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse, Capital Grille, Bahamas Breeze and Seasons 52.

According to its company website, Darden owns and operates more than 2,000 restaurants and employs 185,000 people.

The case is Mathis et al vs. Darden Restaurants, Inc. et al, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, No. 12-61742-RSR.

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By Sandra Pedicini, Orlando Sentinel 3:00 p.m. EST, November 16, 2012

A federal lawsuit alleging Orlando-based Darden Restaurants underpaid servers has been expanded from two plaintiffs to 50.

The legal action now includes former and current employees at Darden’s restaurants across the country, including Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52.

The lawsuit, filed in September in federal court in Miami, accuses Darden of requiring servers to work off the clock and making them perform too much non-tipped work such as cleaning. It was originally filed on behalf of two former employees of LongHorn and Olive Garden in Florida and Georgia.

A Darden spokesman could not be reached for comment Friday. When the original suit was filed, Darden said it believed the claims were baseless.

One of the two original employees was removed from the suit because he had worked for Darden more than three years before it was filed. The new employees added to the suit all fall within the three-year statute of limitations, said David Lichter, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys.

Attorneys are seeking collective-action status, which could potentially add thousands of employees to the suit.

By Al Lewis
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DENVER (MarketWatch) — Kim Stahler was a waitress at a Red Lobster through most of the 1990s.

She was so angry when she quit, she started a popular website called the Stained Apron, where restaurant servers of every stripe could air their seemingly endless frustrations about their jobs in often colorful ways.

“It was making me hate people,” Stahler said of her waitressing job. “It was turning my heart black. I needed a creative outlet where I could start to lose those feelings.”

Stahler appears to be free at last. Over the ensuing years, she went to school and became a college librarian in Pennsylvania. She no longer updates her website, but has left it up for posterity at www.stainedapron.com . Its timeless tales of nasty customers and heartless managers are worth a read.

All these years later, she said she is not surprised to see a civil lawsuit filed against Orlando, Fla.,-based Darden Restaurants Inc. DRI +0.81%  last week charging violations of federal labor laws.

In a Miami federal court, the company stands accused of underpaying thousands of employees at its popular eateries, including Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Capital Grille, and Red Lobster.

“They make a tremendous profit by not paying proper wages,” Stahler said.

Miami attorney David Lichter said his lawsuit against Darden outlines some common but illegal practices in the restaurant industry, not just at Darden. These can include forcing wait staff to work off the clock, denying them overtime, and making them spend too many hours on chores that do not earn tips, from filling salt shakers to cleaning window blinds.

Almost everyone knows there is no standing idle in the restaurant business, even when there isn’t a customer to be served. “We’ve heard the phrase in the hospitality industry ‘If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean,’” Lichter said.

“Certainly, Darden didn’t invent this conduct,” he continued. “It’s not the first time a restaurant chain has been sued. .. We’re hoping that the larger hospitality industry sits up and takes notice.”

Darden spokesman Rich Jeffers called the lawsuit “baseless.” Its allegations “fly in the face of our values and how we operate our business,” he said. “Each of our brands complies with all federal and state labor and employment laws, and we’re proud of our standing as an employer of choice.”

On the plus side, Darden ranked No. 99 on Fortune Magazine’s list of 100 best places to work for 2012. It also made the list last year. Fortune said the company is “a diversity champion; 30% of restaurant managers are minorities and 41% are women.”

On the minus side, Darden has been named in similar lawsuits. And last year, following a Department of Labor investigation, the company was fined $30,800 and agreed to pay more than $25,000 in back wages to Olive Garden workers in Mesquite, Texas.

Also last year, the company paid $27,000 in back wages and a fine of nearly $24,000 for labor violations involving 109 Red Lobster workers in Lubbock, Texas. Jeffers said these cases were “isolated instances,” and did not result in any evidence that a manager asked an employee to work off the clock.

So far, Lichter’s case is a tiny one. He has only two former Darden employees named in his lawsuit. And he is not making them available for interviews, even after sending out press releases to attract national attention to his case. Jeffers notes that neither of these former employees bothered to air their complaints internally, to which Lichter had no comment.

Lichter, however, said he has heard from more than 300 current and former Darden employees interested in more information about his case. And he seeks to represent more than 1,000.

For now, we’ll just have to see how many Darden employees step up. Meantime, it is difficult to imagine a company doing so well, if the people who care for its customers are treated so poorly.

Darden stock has come roaring back from its 2008 low of about $14 a share. It now trades at nearly $55, close to its 52-week high. The company runs 2,000 restaurants, with more than 185,000 employees, and generates $8 billion in annual sales. If you haven’t been served at a Darden-owned restaurant, you probably will be soon. It also owns Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52, Eddie V’s and, after a recent acquisition, Yard House.

It may be that the company is so big, it doesn’t always run smoothly. It was a long time ago, but Stahler remembers her time at Red Lobster as something out of a satire.

“It was such high volume, a lot of corporate craziness, all these bad manager ideas,” she said. “It was like the movie ‘Office Space,’ where your boss is always telling you to do stupid things.”

“Most employees are trying to do a good job and get through their shift,” she said. “If a manager tells them to do something, it’s hard to say, ‘Oh, that’s illegal.’ “These things need to be exposed and talked about,” she said. “It’s not ‘baseless,’ as they say. I think the employees will be successful.”

By Michelle Celarier
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Restaurant owners, you’ve been served.

From McDonald’s to Mario Batali, restaurant owners have forked over big bucks in recent years to settle lawsuits brought by workers who claimed they were illegally underpaid.

Darden Restaurants, which owns Olive Garden, Red Lobster and the Capital Grille eateries in New York and across the country, is the latest to be hit with a lawsuit alleging the type of pay abuses that critics say are rife in the industry.

Darden workers claim that they were forced to work before clocking in, received less than minimum wage without getting the commensurate tip income, and were not paid overtime when forced to work more than 40 hours a week.

“This kind of practice didn’t start with Darden, and it’s not new,” said David Lichter, the lawyer representing the restaurant workers in a suit filed last week in Florida seeking collective action status. “We brought the lawsuit to force them to change,”

With $8 billion in revenue and $477 million in annual profit, Darden claims to be the largest full-service restaurant group in the US with about 169,000 employees. Restaurant labor costs eat up about about 31 percent of revenue.

Lichter says the company could be forced to pay millions of dollars if the workers win, depending on how many get involved in the suit. So far, about 300 employees from around the country have contacted his firm.

Last year, Darden was sanctioned twice by the Labor Department and forced to pay more than $100,000 in back wages and penalties in cases involving 249 workers. Two other suits, filed separately in Chicago and New York, are also pending.

Right now analysts think the suit is unlikely to have a material impact on Darden.

“If there is a risk here, I think it will be in a one-time cash payment versus some sort of ongoing labor issue,” said Stephens analyst Will Slabaugh.

But other cases have been piling up. On Aug. 30, workers won a similar suit against Applebee’s, though penalties haven’t been disclosed. Mario Batali in May paid $5.2 million to settle a suit involving employees at his New York restaurants who claimed that he skimmed tips owed them. And an earlier 2008 class-action claim against McDonald’s over pay issues has also been settled for an undisclosed amount.

A Darden spokesman said the allegations are “baseless and fly in the face of our values and how we operate our business.”

To view original article, click here

MIAMI, Sept 6 (Reuters) – Darden Restaurants Inc, best known for its Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains, was hit with a lawsuit in federal court in Miami on Thursday accusing one of the largest U.S. restaurant operators of violating federal labor laws by underpaying workers at its popular eateries across the country.

The lawsuit accuses the Orlando, Florida-based company of failing to pay federally mandated minimum wages and forcing its waiters and waitresses to work “off-the-clock” before or after their shifts.

Filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act, it also claims many Darden employees have failed to receive appropriate overtime wages for work in excess of 40 hours per week.

Only two plaintiffs are named in the 19-page complaint filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

But the suit seeks to collectively represent what it describes as “at least thousands of individuals” who are current or former employees of Darden, from 2009 to the present.

“We think it’s the first lawsuit in the country that seeks a nationwide collective action involving all four of Darden’s flagship restaurants, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse and Capital Grille,” said David Lichter of Higer Lichter & Givner, one of the lead attorneys who filed the complaint.

“Since the lawsuit has been filed this morning we’ve been contacted by servers around the country who have expressed interest in the action,” Lichter said.

Darden spokesman Rich Jeffers said the company takes “any claims of impropriety seriously.” But he said Darden had no record of the plaintiffs in Thursday’s complaint attempting to resolve their alleged pay complaints through an internal “dispute resolution” process.

“We believe they are baseless and fly in the face of our values and how we operate our business,” Jeffers said.

Lichter said it was not immediately clear how much money he and other lawyers would potentially demand that Darden pay out due to the lawsuit, in the form of back pay and other compensation.

But he said the complaint was aimed at putting the entire restaurant and hospitality industry on notice that abuses targeting poorly paid “tipped employees” would no longer be tolerated.

“In these times, people are struggling to get by. They’re entitled to earn at least the minimum wage,” Lichter told Reuters.

MIAMI — Darden Restaurants violated federal labor laws by underpaying thousands of servers across the country at Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Red Lobster and other eateries, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of the workers.

The lawsuit filed in Miami federal court seeks to collectively represent current and past employees who worked for Darden from August 2009 to the present. It seeks potentially tens of millions of dollars in back pay and other compensation, plus interest and attorney fees, said lead lawyer David Lichter.
“Darden has a companywide pattern and practice of paying its employees below minimum wage and less than what the law requires,” Lichter said. “We’re seeking not only to correct the wrongs that have occurred at Darden, but hopefully this will stimulate change across the country.”

A spokesman at Darden, the nation’s largest full-service restaurant owner and operator, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Orlando-based company’s website said it has more than 2,000 restaurants in North America that employ about 180,000 people. Darden does not franchise its restaurants.

The Department of Labor has found violations similar to those claimed in the lawsuit in several individual investigations, including a 2011 probe in which the company agreed to pay more than $25,000 in back wages to Olive Garden workers in Mesquite, Texas. Darden was also assessed a $30,800 fine in that case.

There are similar lawsuits pending in Illinois and New York, but the one filed in Florida is the first seeking to represent all Darden workers at its four major brands: Olive Garden, Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille. Its named plaintiffs are two Darden workers in Florida and Virginia.

The lawsuit was filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Its claims against Darden include:
— Servers showed up for shifts as scheduled but were not allowed to clock in until customers began arriving. Some were also forced to clock out and continue working without pay.
— Employees who worked beyond 40 hours a week were not paid 1.5 times their regular pay as required.
— Tipped employees refilled salt shakers, rolled silverware in napkins and vacuumed for more than 20 percent of their work time. Such “side work” beyond 20 percent for tipped employees entitles them to at least the minimum wage, which those employees otherwise do not usually get.
Attorneys said it was unclear how much money is owed to the entire class of affected Darden workers, which they expect to easily top 1,000 people.

MIAMI — Darden Restaurants violated federal labor laws by underpaying thousands of servers across the country at Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Red Lobster and other eateries, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of the workers.

The lawsuit filed in Miami federal court seeks to collectively represent current and past employees who worked for Darden from August 2009 to the present. It seeks potentially tens of millions of dollars in back pay and other compensation, plus interest and attorneys’ fees, said lead lawyer David Lichter.
“Darden has a companywide pattern and practice of paying its employees below minimum wage and less than what the law requires,” Mr. Lichter said. “We’re seeking not only to correct the wrongs that have occurred at Darden, but hopefully, this will stimulate change across the country.”

Darden spokesman Rich Jeffers said the allegations in the lawsuit “fly in the face of our values and how we operate our business.”
“Each of our brands complies with all federal and state labor and employment laws, and we’re proud of our standing as an employer of choice,” he said in an email.
The Orlando, Fla.-based company’s website said it has more than 2,000 restaurants in North America that employ about 180,000 people. Darden does not franchise its restaurants.
The Department of Labor has found violations similar to those claimed in the lawsuit in several individual investigations, including a 2011 probe, in which the company agreed to pay more than $25,000 in back wages to Olive Garden workers in Mesquite, Texas. Darden was also assessed a $30,800 fine in that case.

Also in 2011, Darden paid more than $27,000 in back pay and a nearly $24,000 civil penalty for labor violations involving 109 current and former Red Lobster workers in Lubbock, Texas, according to the Labor Department.

There are similar lawsuits pending in Illinois and New York, but the one filed in Florida is the first seeking to represent all Darden workers at its four major brands: Olive Garden, Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse and the Capital Grille. Its named plaintiffs are two Darden workers in Florida and Virginia.
Mr. Jeffers said the company was unaware of the two employees’ complaints prior to the filing of the lawsuit and that neither of them had used an in-house program used to address employee disputes and concerns.

“We take any claims of impropriety seriously, and we routinely investigate them,” he said. The lawsuit was filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Its claims against Darden include: Servers showed up for shifts as scheduled but were not allowed to clock in until customers began arriving, and some were also forced to clock out and continue working without pay; Employees who worked beyond 40 hours a week were not paid 1.5 times their regular pay as required; and tipped employees refilled salt shakers, rolled silverware in napkins and vacuumed for more than 20 percent of their work time. Such “side work” beyond 20 percent for tipped employees entitles them to at least the minimum wage, which those employees otherwise do not usually get.
Lawyers said it was unclear how much money is owed to the entire class of affected Darden workers, which they expect to easily top 1,000 people.

Darden Restaurants hit with lawsuit over wages

(Reuters) – Darden Restaurants Inc, best known for its Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains, was hit with a lawsuit in federal court in Miami on Thursday accusing one of the largest U.S. restaurant operators of violating federal labor laws by underpaying workers at its popular eateries across the country.

The lawsuit accuses the Orlando, Florida-based company of failing to pay federally mandated minimum wages and forcing its waiters and waitresses to work “off-the-clock” before or after their shifts.

Filed under the Fair Labor Standards Act, it also claims many Darden employees have failed to receive appropriate overtime wages for work in excess of 40 hours per week.

Only two plaintiffs are named in the 19-page complaint filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

But the suit seeks to collectively represent what it describes as “at least thousands of individuals” who are current or former employees of Darden, from 2009 to the present.

“We think it’s the first lawsuit in the country that seeks a nationwide collective action involving all four of Darden’s flagship restaurants, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse and Capital Grille,” said David Lichter of Higer Lichter & Givner, one of the lead attorneys who filed the complaint.

“Since the lawsuit has been filed this morning we’ve been contacted by servers around the country who have expressed interest in the action,” Lichter said.

Darden spokesman Rich Jeffers said the company takes “any claims of impropriety seriously.” But he said Darden had no record of the plaintiffs in Thursday’s complaint attempting to resolve their alleged pay complaints through an internal “dispute resolution” process.

“We believe they are baseless and fly in the face of our values and how we operate our business,” Jeffers said.

Lichter said it was not immediately clear how much money he and other lawyers would potentially demand that Darden pay out due to the lawsuit, in the form of back pay and other compensation.

But he said the complaint was aimed at putting the entire restaurant and hospitality industry on notice that abuses targeting poorly paid “tipped employees” would no longer be tolerated.

“In these times, people are struggling to get by. They’re entitled to earn at least the minimum wage,” Lichter told Reuters.

(Reporting By Tom Brown)

U.S.