News

Class-action complaint filed against Taco Bell

September 14, 2010

A Consolidated Class-Action Complaint was recently filed with more than 18,000 plaintiffs involved claiming that California area Taco Bells, and its parent company Yum! Brands, Inc., failed to pay managers for overtime and work-related travel expenses. This claim violates many California labor laws.

Sandrika Medlock, a former Taco Bell shift manager, was the first to file suit with the defendants. The class action request is pending in the Eastern District Court of California, Fresno Division, case #1:07-cv-01314-OWW-DLB.

According to the complaint, Taco Bell also violated California labor laws by failing to pay wages immediately and in full after an employee was let go, and/or didn’t pay wages owed within 72 hours if an employee voluntarily left the company. Taco Bell was also cited for not giving employees compensation when they worked through meals and breaks, failing to give employees the right wage documents, and not compensating employees for mandated clothing.

The complaint asks for more than $5 million for unpaid overtime, lunch and rest breaks and travel expenses compensation, and for not providing wage statements, in addition to attorneys' fees and court costs.

Taco Bell has been faced with several lawsuits this year, including one filed in August over a salmonella outbreak.