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Pret a Manger agrees to settle worker lawsuit for nearly $1M

October 31, 2018

Pret A Manger will pay nearly $1 million to settle wage claims with New York employees, according to The Times UK.

Workers, via court documents filed this month in New York, claimed that the chain had violated U.S. labor laws by failing to pay them for all the hours they worked. Specifically, they alleged that the bakery had been "time-shaving," an illegal practice where hours are rounded down so employees get paid less. Pret decided to settle the case for $875,000, according to the article.

The chain faced a similar situation in 2014, when New York workers filed a lawsuit against the chain claiming they hadn"t received overtime pay for the hours worked. They also accused Pret A Manger of illegal tip-pooling and not providing them with appropriate wage statements. The company paid them $910,000 million but did not admit liability, however.

JAB Holdings, which also owns Panera Bread,bought Pret this spring for $2 billion. 

 In an email to FastCasual, a Pret spokesperson wrote: "We are absolutely committed to making sure all our team members are paid for all the hours that they work."