Olive Garden, Longhorn workers file suit
Darden chain allegedly underpaid
MIAMI — Darden Restaurants Inc. 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 f iled in Miami federal court takes aim at one of the nation’s largest restaurant operators, whose board of directors consists of a gallery of Southern notables including Memphian Michael D. Rose, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. U. S.- stores president William S. Simon, former U. S. Sen. Connie Mack of Florida and retired BellSouth Mobility Inc. president Odie Donald.
In casting a wide net, the lawsuit seeks to col- lectively represent current and past employees who worked for Darden’s restaurants 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 fullservice restaurant owner and operator, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Orlando-based companyoperates 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.
Similar lawsuits are 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 Gar- den, 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.
Orlando-based Darden, considered the nation’s largest operator of casual dining restaurants, reported after-tax profit of $151.2 million on sales of $2 billion for the quarter ended May 27.
The business originated with Georgia restaurant entrepreneur Bill Darden, who in 1963 teamed with investors to buy Gary’s Duck Inn in Orlando, which he renamed Red Lobster. Darden opened copies of the restaurant in a series of cities and in 1970 sold the chain to Minneapolis food giant General Mills Inc.
General Mills kept Darden on hand to expand the business. An array of different restaurant themes were tried, including the 1982 launch of Olive Garden. In 1995, the eatery businesses were spun off as a public company called Darden Restaurants.
Today, the company is headed by former investment banker Clarence Otis Jr. and the board of directors includes Michael Rose, former chairman of Memphis-based Promus Hotels Corp., the successor to Holiday Inns.
Darden’s largest shareholders are two mutual fund giants — Vanguard Group and American Funds operator Capital Research Global Investors, which together control 17 percent of the stock.