Colorado's Court of Appeals determined last week that three lawsuits against fast food chains may proceed, in part, as class actions — meaning potentially thousands of workers across dozens of stores could benefit monetarily if wage violations are proven.
In cases arising out of Denver, El Paso County and southwest Colorado, a three-judge panel of the appellate court ruled that the information to date suggested McDonald's and Wendy's employees were not taking 10-minute compensated breaks as provided in state law — and there was a common explanation for why that was.
It is possible "that a jury could reasonably conclude that an individual earning minimum (or near-minimum) wage would voluntarily continue working instead of receiving a ten-minute compensated break," wrote Judge Terry Fox in a Dec. 29 opinion. "But a jury could also reasonably conclude that managers were unable or unwilling to authorize such breaks."
The same attorneys filed each of the lawsuits based on similar sets of allegations. Under Colorado wage law and associated regulations, employers must permit a 10-minute, compensated rest period to employees for every four hours worked. A failure to do so means the employer has effectively deprived its workers of 10 minutes' pay.
Also, employers must provide a 30-minute, uncompensated meal break for shifts over five hours, except when an "uninterrupted meal period" is impractical. In that case, workers may eat on duty while receiving pay.
The lawsuits, filed as...
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