The national fast-food sandwich chain Jimmy John’s illegally underpaid assistant store managers throughout the nation in violation of federal labor laws, Outten & Golden LLP, the Shavitz Law Group, P.A., and Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP alleged in Florida federal court.
The class action complaint, filed in Jacksonville on behalf of current and former assistant store managers (“ASMs”) from Florida, Illinois, and Alabama, accuses the Champaign, Ill.-based Jimmy John’s of failing to pay proper wages required by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
According to the complaint, “Regardless of the number of hours worked, Jimmy John’s fails to pay ASMs any overtime compensation.” The company requires ASMs to perform food preparation and provide customer service as their primary duty, but classifies them as “executives” exempt from the overtime pay provisions, the lawsuit alleges.
The ASM plaintiffs are represented by Justin M. Swartz, Ossai Miazad, and Michael N. Litrownik of Outten & Golden LLP’s New York office; Gregg I. Shavitz, of the Shavitz Law Group, P.A., of Boca Raton, Fla.; and Seth R. Lesser, Fran L. Rudich, and Dudley Jordan of Klafter Olsen & Lesser LLP, of Rye Brook, N.Y.
Justin M. Swartz, of Outten & Golden LLP, “We hope that this case will send a clear message to Jimmy John’s that they cannot underpay the thousands of employees whose hard work and long hours contribute so much to the company’s success.”
Gregg I. Shavitz, of the Shavitz Law Group, said, “We will present evidence that Jimmy John’s exercises substantial and nearly complete control over its sandwich shops and should have known that it was violating the law.”
Seth R. Lesser, of Klafter Olsen & Lesser, said, “Jimmy John’s operates over 2,000 restaurants around the country, and underpaying ASMs seems to be part of its business model.”
The legal team will seek to have the lawsuit certified as a collective action to recover unpaid wages, service awards, interest, and attorneys’ fees and costs for eligible ASMs who worked at Jimmy John’s since January 2012.
This case is “Jay Rodriguez, et al., v. Jimmy John’s, LLC, et al.,” No. 3:15-cv-00002-MMH-PDB, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division.
The plaintiffs are Jay Rodriguez, who worked at Jimmy John’s store in Jacksonville, Fla., from June 2012 until March 2013; Kerry Kavanagh, who worked at a Jimmy John’s store in Tuscaloosa, Ala., from August 2012 until February 2013; and Peter Womack, who worked at a Jimmy John’s store in Chicago, from August 2012 until December 2012.
Plaintiffs seeking more information should contact 1-877-4OUTTEN.
Media Contact: Erin Powers, Powers MediaWorks LLC, for Outten & Golden LLP, 281.703.6000, @email.