$4.6 Million Settlement. 900 Managers Misclassified.
Covelli Enterprises, the largest Panera Bread franchisee with 300 locations, hit with class action after assistant managers were wrongly classified as exempt and had collectible overtime pay.
How It Happened
Panera Bread reclassified assistant managers as salaried exempt employees. Under FLSA, exempt employees must primarily perform managerial duties, not hourly tasks like cashier work and food prep.