Jury finds Taco Bell guilty in wages suit; chain to appeal case's class-action status
SEATTLE -- In a verdict that could have sweeping consequences for employers and cost Taco Bell Corp. millions of dollars, a jury here found the Mexican fast-food chain guilty of intentionally cheating hourly employees out of wages by having them work "off the clock," among other things.
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor recently reported that off-the-timeclock violations are among the most common complaints against employers by employees.
"This judgment sends an important message that workers will be protected when they are denied basic legal rights," said attorney Becky Roe, who, along with attorneys William Rutzick and David Mark, represents eight former Taco Bell employees in the Washington case. The verdict against Taco Bell in King County Superior Court resulted from the trio's class-action lawsuit against the PepsiCo-owned chain on behalf of their clients and as many as 12,000 employees or former employees of 62 Washington Taco Bell restaurants.
Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell acknowledged that some state wage-and-hour laws were violated at its restaurants in Washington. But in an effort to greatly reduce its financial liability, the company vowed to appeal the class-action status of the case because "these were isolated incidences and not a systemwide problem across [Washington]."
"This was a case of several people who broke our rules abused our system an] violated wage laws," Taco Bell vice president of corporate affairs Jonathan Blum said in a prepared statement. "We find it intolerable, inexcusable and outrageous for anyone working for us to make their own rules and decide not to pay our employees for every minute they work. Those who we learned intentionally broke our rules no longer work for us."
Blum said Taco Bell "is going to do everything possible to ensure this doesn't happen again," and he added that the chain for "many years" has had a series of "checks and balances" in place to "ensure our employees are paid fairly." But he
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Labor recently reported that off-the-timeclock violations are among the most common complaints against employers by employees.
"This judgment sends an important message that workers will be protected when they are denied basic legal rights," said attorney Becky Roe, who, along with attorneys William Rutzick and David Mark, represents eight former Taco Bell employees in the Washington case. The verdict against Taco Bell in King County Superior Court resulted from the trio's class-action lawsuit against the PepsiCo-owned chain on behalf of their clients and as many as 12,000 employees or former employees of 62 Washington Taco Bell restaurants.
Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell acknowledged that some state wage-and-hour laws were violated at its restaurants in Washington. But in an effort to greatly reduce its financial liability, the company vowed to appeal the class-action status of the case because "these were isolated incidences and not a systemwide problem across [Washington]."
"This was a case of several people who broke our rules abused our system an] violated wage laws," Taco Bell vice president of corporate affairs Jonathan Blum said in a prepared statement. "We find it intolerable, inexcusable and outrageous for anyone working for us to make their own rules and decide not to pay our employees for every minute they work. Those who we learned intentionally broke our rules no longer work for us."
Blum said Taco Bell "is going to do everything possible to ensure this doesn't happen again," and he added that the chain for "many years" has had a series of "checks and balances" in place to "ensure our employees are paid fairly." But he