• Case Studies

• ADA Discrimination
• Misclassification (Enterprise)
• Misclassification (FedEx)
• Misclassification (RadioShack)
• Missed Meal and Rest Breaks (KFC)
• Missed Meal and Rest Breaks (Wal-Mart)
• Off-The-Clock Work
• On-Duty Meal Periods
• Gender Discrimination
• Tip Pooling

• Clients

• Industry Experience

Defendant Missed Meal and Rest Break Case Study

Archila v. KFC U.S. Properties, Inc.

Case Details

A California class action lawsuit was filed against a fast-food chain alleging that hourly workers did not get their meal and rest breaks as required by law. In this case, we were retained by the fast-food company to gather data on meal and rest break compliance. Time records were not considered sufficient to determine whether hourly workers took their meals and rest breaks, so a new form of data collection was needed to resolve the issue in this case. Many of the hourly workers communicated only in Spanish and had limited education. To create a reliable and valid survey for these workers, we designed the questionnaire to require minimal levels of reading proficiency and comprehension and also translated the questionnaire and instructions into Spanish for Spanish-speaking employees.

Our Study

• Developed an “employee experience” survey (in both English and Spanish) in which hourly workers reported their experience as an employee across a number of topics including meal and rest break experience.
• Designed a specific data collection protocol that was used consistently to obtain meaningful and honest responses from the employees taking the survey.
• Identified locations of all KFC restaurants in California and selected a random sample of restaurants to participate in the survey.
• Administered the survey to randomly selected hourly workers in their store lobby away from their work stations and supervisors. Our consultants gave instructions in person and collected surveys after they were completed.
• Analyzed the data and provided a report of our findings.

Results

The study revealed that the vast majority of hourly workers reported that they regularly took their rest breaks and lunches, that they took these breaks without interruption, and that their managers did not prevent them from taking their breaks. Dr. Banks reported the results of the study in a declaration which was submitted to the court. The case is still pending.