ARTICLE · 04 FEBRUARY 2025

For The Restaurant Industry

Shulman Rogers

Explore more from Shulman Rogers

As most operators know, wage and hour disputes always seem to loom on the horizon, with the specter of wage and hour class actions being particularly anxiety-inducing.

United StatesEmployment and HR

Meredith “Merry” Campbell

Joy C. Einstein

Alexander I. Castelli

Fourth Circuit Shuts Down Overly Broad Class Definition in Wage and Hour Litigation

As most operators know, wage and hour disputes always seem to loom on the horizon, with the specter of wage and hour class actions being particularly anxiety-inducing. In one small piece of good news for employers on the class action front, on December 17, 2024, in Stafford v. Bojangles' Restaurants, Inc., 2024 WL 5131108 (4th Cir. 2024), the Fourth Circuit struck down an overly-general class definition for a class of employees who attempted to sue Bojangles for alleged wage and hour violations.

In the Bojangles suit, plaintiff, an hourly employee who served as a shift manager, sued on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated for violations of the North Carolina Wage and Hour Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act when the restaurant allegedly failed to pay him overtime to clean the restaurant and drive between Bojangles locations. He filed suit on behalf of all others

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