Please note: As of January 20, 2021, information in some news releases may be out of date or not reflect current policies.
News Release
Colorado-Based Einstein Brothers Bagels Agrees to Pay
$495,930 in Back Overtime Wages to Employees in 27 States
GOLDEN, Colo. A Colorado-based national chain of bagel restaurants has paid $495,930.93 in back overtime wages to 424 assistant managers in 27 states nationwide following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division.
Einstein Brothers Bagels, Golden, Colo., also known as the New World Restaurant Group operating under the names Einstein Noah Bagels, Noahs New York Bagels, Manhattan Bagels, Chesapeake Bagels, New World Coffee and Willoghbys Coffee & Tea, employ approximately 10,000 workers in their 450 bagel restaurants and coffee shops.
The Wage and Hour Divisions district office in Denver began an investigation of Einstein locations in the Denver-metro area in March and found that the company was misclassifying their assistant managers as exempt from the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The settlement includes Einstein employees located in Arizona, Colorado, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
In addition to paying the back wages owed, the company agreed to comply with the law in the future and also performed a nationwide self-audit which determined that their non-exempt managers were working on average between 50-51 hours per week. The company began paying these managers on an hourly basis in April.
The Wage and Hour Division enforces the FLSA, which sets the federal minimum wage at $5.15 for most workers and generally requires the payment of time and one-half an employees regular rate of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. Employers also must keep accurate time and payroll records.
For more information about the FLSA, call the Department of Labors toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.dol.gov.
# # #
_________________________________________________________________
Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.