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ESA News Release: [9/25/2002]
Contact Name: Yvonne Ralsky
Phone Number: (202) 693-4676

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 Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Einstein Brothers Bagels, Golden, Colo., also known as the New World Restaurant Group operating under the names Einstein Noah Bagels, Noah’s New York Bagels, Manhattan Bagels, Chesapeake Bagels, New World Coffee and Willoghby’s Coffee & Tea, employ approximately 10,000 workers in their 450 bagel restaurants and coffee shops.

The Wage and Hour Division’s 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 employee’s 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 Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at www.dol.gov.

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