Public record · Not a Marty customer result · Customer case studies
$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.
Book a Free Working Session →How It Happened
Panera Reclassifies Assistant Managers
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.
Managers Perform Non-Managerial Work
Assistant managers spent significant time on hourly tasks: running the cash register, preparing food, cleaning. Despite working 50+ hour weeks, they received no overtime pay because of their "exempt" classification.
Class Action Lawsuit Filed
Former assistant managers filed suit in Ohio federal court, alleging Covelli Enterprises had FLSA and Ohio wage law gaps by misclassifying them, leaving overtime compensation uncollected.
$4.6 Million Settlement Reached
Covelli Enterprises agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle the claims. The settlement covered 900+ assistant managers across their 300-location portfolio.
Final Approval Granted
Federal court granted final approval of the settlement. Covelli also faced a separate D.C. class action on similar misclassification issues, settling for approximately $2M.
Without Marty
- No visibility into actual duties performed by "exempt" managers
- Misclassification spreads across 300 locations undetected
- Years of collectible overtime accumulate as liability
- First notice comes from class action attorneys
- $4.6M+ settlement hits the books
With Marty
- Time analysis shows managers doing hourly work
- Notifications when exempt employees exceed 40 hours on non-exempt tasks
- Classification audit flags misaligned positions
- Fix classification before liability compounds
- Documentation proves good-faith compliance efforts
See What's Collectible in Your Classification Data
Our analysis finds the collectible cash sitting in your classification and overtime data.
Book a Free Working Session →If we don't find $250K+ in collectible cash, you don't pay.
Sources: Restaurant Dive, court filings, DOL records.