Taco Bell Settles Overtime Claims Suit

Taco Bell Corp. said it has agreed to let thousands of current and former workers in Washington state file claims to recover back pay for unrecorded work hours, unpaid overtime and other wage and hour violations. The agreement, subject to court approval, settles a class-action lawsuit filed against the restaurant chain on behalf of up to 16,000 workers employed from February 1992 through last March. Lawyers for the workers said the claims could total up to $10 million. A Seattle jury last April found Irvine-based Taco Bell liable for a statewide pattern of wage and hour abuses. A trial was to have begun next month to determine the amount to be awarded. As part of the settlement, Taco Bell also agreed to pay for plaintiffs’ legal fees, a neutral claims-processing office and for a toll-free information phone line for employees with questions about claims. The restaurant chain, which specializes in Mexican-style fast food, admitted no wrongdoing. It maintains that its policy has always been to pay for all work performed.