Dynamic Accident Lawyers: Taco Bell Wage & Hour Class Action Settlement Rejected

Taco Bell class action settlement A Florida judge has rejected a Taco Bell class action lawsuit settlement reached over allegations that a franchise violated employment laws by deleting overtime hours entered by its employees, saying that the parties failed to submit the agreement to the court.

Lead plaintiff Cory Wise filed the Taco Bell wage and hour class action lawsuit against Bravo Foods LLC. in July of last year. In it, he alleged that Taco Bell franchise owner Bravo had unfairly deprived employees of overtime wages.

The Taco Bell class action lawsuit claims that Wise had been hired as a non-exempt employee in August of 2014, but Bravo had failed to pay him for overtime from August until April of the following year in violation of employment laws, including the Fair Labor Standard Act.

The plaintiff further alleged that Bravo had changed and/or deleted work records to avoid paying overtime to all of its eligible employees. Bravo Foods operates Taco Bell franchises in Orlando, Florida, as well as Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia.

In December of this year, the parties had told the court that they came up with a settlement agreement and asked for approval of the deal from the Florida federal magistrate court. In their motion, the parties stated that the court should approve the agreement because it is “fair and reasonable in this case given the nature of the dispute, the legal issues involved and the risks and costs associated with future litigation.” However, the parties did not include a copy of the proposed settlement agreement to their motion.

The parties did indicate they could email the Taco Bell overtime class action lawsuit settlement agreement to the court upon request for review, but U.S. Magistrate Judge David A. Baker rejected the proposal.

“The court cannot consider an agreement as to which it has no information,” Judge Baker wrote in his order denying the proposed Taco Bell class action settlement. “Further, jurisdiction cannot be retained for enforcement of agreement not in the record.”

Judge Baker also pointed out in his order that emailing the proposed settlement agreement would keep it out of the public record improperly. The judge explained that this is because settlements of claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act must be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Labor or a district court for approval where plaintiffs may potentially be waiving their rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“The parties seek approval of their General Release of All Claims and Confidentiality Agreement (‘Settlement Agreement’), however, it has not been submitted and is not part of the public record. The parties also request that this Court retain jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the Settlement Agreement, even though it is not in the record. The Court cannot consider an agreement as to which it has no information. Further jurisdiction cannot be retained for enforcement of agreement not in the record.”

Wise is represented by Richard B. Celler of Celler Legal PA.

The Taco Bell Overtime Class Action Lawsuit is Wise v. Bravo Foods LLC d/b/a Taco Bell, Case No. 6:15-cv-01199, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.

Email*
State*
selectAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingArmed Forces AmericasArmed Forces EuropeArmed Forces Pacific

jQuery(document).ready(function($){gformInitSpinner( 5, ‘http://11284-presscdn-0-40.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.gif’ );jQuery(‘#gform_ajax_frame_5’).load( function(){var contents = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘*’).html();var is_postback = contents.indexOf(‘GF_AJAX_POSTBACK’) >= 0;if(!is_postback){return;}var form_content = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘#gform_wrapper_5’);var is_confirmation = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘#gform_confirmation_wrapper_5’).length > 0;var is_redirect = contents.indexOf(‘gformRedirect(){‘) >= 0;var is_form = form_content.length > 0 && ! is_redirect && ! is_confirmation;if(is_form){jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_5’).html(form_content.html());setTimeout( function() { /* delay the scroll by 50 milliseconds to fix a bug in chrome */ jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_5’).offset().top); }, 50 );if(window[‘gformInitDatepicker’]) {gformInitDatepicker();}if(window[‘gformInitPriceFields’]) {gformInitPriceFields();}var current_page = jQuery(‘#gform_source_page_number_5’).val();gformInitSpinner( 5, ‘http://11284-presscdn-0-40.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/images/spinner.gif’ );jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_page_loaded’, [5, current_page]);window[‘gf_submitting_5’] = false;}else if(!is_redirect){var confirmation_content = jQuery(this).contents().find(‘#gforms_confirmation_message_5’).html();if(!confirmation_content){confirmation_content = contents;}setTimeout(function(){jQuery(‘#gform_wrapper_5’).replaceWith(” + confirmation_content + ”);jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery(‘#gforms_confirmation_message_5’).offset().top);jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_confirmation_loaded’, [5]);window[‘gf_submitting_5’] = false;}, 50);}else{jQuery(‘#gform_5’).append(contents);if(window[‘gformRedirect’]) {gformRedirect();}}jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_post_render’, [5, current_page]);} );} ); if(typeof gf_global == ‘undefined’) var gf_global = {“gf_currency_config”:{“name”:”U.S. Dollar”,”symbol_left”:”$”,”symbol_right”:””,”symbol_padding”:””,”thousand_separator”:”,”,”decimal_separator”:”.”,”decimals”:2},”base_url”:”http:\/\/topclassactions.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/gravityforms”,”number_formats”:[],”spinnerUrl”:”http:\/\/topclassactions.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/gravityforms\/images\/spinner.gif”};jQuery(document).bind(‘gform_post_render’, function(event, formId, currentPage){if(formId == 5) {gformInitChosenFields(‘#input_5_2′,’No results matched’);} } );jQuery(document).bind(‘gform_post_conditional_logic’, function(event, formId, fields, isInit){gformInitChosenFields(‘#input_5_2′,’No results matched’);} ); jQuery(document).ready(function(){jQuery(document).trigger(‘gform_post_render’, [5, 1]) } );

Top Class Actions is a Proud Member of the American Bar Association

american-bar-association