Food & Beverage Litigation & Regulatory Update

Tag: restaurant

  • CSPI Issues 2013 “Xtreme Eating” Report

    The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has released its 2013 “Xtreme Eating” report, which singled out restaurant foods that are allegedly laden with excessive calories, fat and sodium. Claiming that some restaurants seem to “scientifically engineer[] these extreme meals with the express purpose of promoting obesity, diabetes, and heart disease,” the report…

  • Former Steakhouse Server Seeks to Revive Collective Wage-and-Hour Claims

    A woman who formerly worked as a LongHorn Steakhouse server has asked a federal court for permission to modify her motion for a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act following the court’s denial of her motion in December 2012 on the ground that she lacked personal knowledge as to practices at the company’s…

  • Burger King Franchisee to Pay $25,000 to Cashier Fired for Wearing Skirt Prescribed by Faith

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a consent decree with a federal court in Texas to resolve claims that a Burger King franchise operator discriminated against a former cashier on the basis of religion. EEOC v. Fries Rest. Mgmt., LLC, No. 12 3169 (N.D. Tex., filed January 16, 2013). Without admitting liability, the…

  • NYT Chronicles Push to Unionize Fast-Food Workers

    A recent article in The New York Times has highlighted the efforts of Fast Food Forward, a campaign seeking to unionize fast-food workers in New York City. According to Times labor and workplace reporter Steven Greenhouse, the campaign has worked with 40 full-time organizers with the support of community and civil rights groups to recruit…

  • Spam Text Class Action Certified Against Papa John’s

    A federal court in California has certified a nationwide class and Washington subclass of individuals who received purportedly unsolicited text messages sent by OnTime4U to advertise Papa John’s pizza products. Agne v. Papa John’s Int’l, Inc., No. 10-1139 (W.D. Wash., decided November 9, 2012). An appeal was filed before the Ninth Circuit on November 26. According…

  • First Circuit Upholds $14.1 Million Judgment in Starbucks Tip-Sharing Class Action

    The First Circuit Court of Appeals has determined, as a matter of first impression, that Starbucks Corp. violated a Massachusetts law prohibiting restaurant tips to be shared with employees who have managerial responsibilities, because the “upscale coffee house” chain allowed tips collected in tip jars by the cash registers of its Massachusetts shops to be…

  • ADA Class Settlement Will Require Burger King to Make Restaurants Accessible

    A federal court in California has approved the settlement of class claims that will require Burger King Corp. to remove barriers to wheelchair and scooter access at more than 75 of the restaurants it leases to franchisees in the state and pay $19 million to the settlement class. Vallabhapuapu v. Burger King Corp., No. 11-00667…

  • McDonald’s Scraps Online Sharing Feature to Protect Children’s Privacy

    McDonald’s Corp. has reportedly announced plans to scrap “forward-to-a-friend” features on some of its online games after drawing complaints from a consumer group concerned about children’s privacy. According to media sources, the global restaurant chain said it will disable a sharing option on HappyMeal.com that allowed users “to e-mail ecards, links and photos to family…