Wolf Rifkin Shapiro Schulman & Rabkin, LLP Announces Federal Court Grants Conditional Certification in Outback Steakhouse Wage & Hour Suit

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 27, 2014, after hundreds of employees joined in a federal Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit against Outback Steakhouse, the United States District Court for the District of Nevada conditionally certified a nationwide class of more than 100,000 hourly Outback Steakhouse employees of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. in a case originally filed in October of 2013. The district court ordered that notice of the action be sent to all hourly Outback Steakhouse employees of the company, and that all such workers be given the opportunity to join the lawsuit.

The Plaintiffs in the action allege that Bloomin' Brands, the parent company and owners of more than 600 Outback Steakhouse restaurants, requires off-the-clock work by hourly employees resulting in state and federal minimum wage and overtime violations. The complaint contends that Outback Steakhouse employees are forced to perform unpaid labor before and after their scheduled shifts, are made to undergo unpaid training sessions, and are not paid for mandatory meetings or time worked at promotional events benefitting the company.

"The decision of the court reflects the broad scope of these alleged labor law violations, and establishes an initial finding that hourly workers at the hundreds of corporate-owned Outback Steakhouses across dozens of states are situated similarly to the Plaintiffs who filed the original complaint," said Don Springmeyer of Wolf Rifkin Shapiro Schulman & Rabkin, lead attorney on the case. "We already have seen a strong response to the suit from Outback workers across the country, and now expect greater participation once all hourly employees receive formal notice of these claims over the next several months."

Named Plaintiffs in the suit come from nine different states, and at present 239 current and former employees from 27 different states have opted into the lawsuit, even prior to initiation of the notification process.

The case is entitled Cardoza et al. v. Bloomin' Brands, Inc. at el., D. Nev., Case No. 13-1820, and additional information can be obtained at www.outbacklawsuit.com.

SOURCE Wolf Rifkin Shapiro Schulman & Rabkin, LLP

Related Links

http://www.outbacklawsuit.com