I Got My Mind on My Money and My Money on My Mind. Ryan’s Family Steak Houses, a South Carolina-based company traded on NASDAQ under RYAN, operates 316 restaurants and has 22 franchised restaurants operating in 23 states. Last week, a federal judge in the Middle District of Tennessee certified the class action lawsuit filed against Ryan’s in November 2002. The lawsuit alleges that Ryan’s paid employees “server’s pay” of $2.13 per hour for performing non-server duties for which they received no tips. In addition, the lawsuit alleged that Ryan’s required employees to work off the clock, failed to pay employees for hours worked (including overtime hours) and charged employees for 30 minute breaks that they did not take. According to the Complaint, Ryan’s subjected a number of its employees to these conditions in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The class action could involve as many as 50,000 employees and former employees. The company’s stock closed Friday at $14.19 a share, down 26 cents.
Posted by franchiselawblog at November 17, 2003 04:24 PM