Two Denny’s franchise owners must pay $440,000 to current and former employees after a New York attorney general investigation found the companies failed to provide required additional pay for long workdays.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the settlement with Reveille Management, LLC and Top Line Restaurants, Inc., which operate 23 Denny’s restaurants across western New York and employ thousands of workers statewide.
The investigation found that more than 1,900 employees were not properly paid “spread of hours” wages required under New York law.
Workers owed additional pay for long shifts
New York law requires restaurant workers to receive an additional hour of pay at the state minimum wage rate when they work a day lasting more than 10 hours.
The additional pay applies
to a full workday, including time between shifts, meal breaks and rest periods.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the companies failed to consistently provide the required payments and only paid spread-of-hours wages in some cases after employees or managers requested them.
The investigation found that since 2019, employees completed more than 20,000 qualifying shifts that should have included additional compensation.
Investigation began after employee complaint
The Office of the Attorney General opened the investigation in December 2024 after a Denny’s employee reported that the company was not paying workers for extended shifts.
Investigators reviewed payroll and timekeeping records and determined the companies failed to properly compensate eligible employees.
As part of the settlement, a claims administrator will distribute restitution payments directly to affected workers. Eligible employees will receive information about how to file a claim through mail, email or text.
The companies will also pay up to $40,000 to cover administrative costs.
Denny’s owners must change workplace policies
As part of the agreement, Reveille Management and Top Line Restaurants must make changes to their wage and employment practices, including:
- Providing employees and managers with information about wage and hour rights.
- Updating employee handbooks to include spread-of-hours pay requirements.
- Revising earnings statements to identify spread-of-hours payments.
- Training employees on New York and federal wage laws.
- Submitting compliance reports to the Attorney General’s Office for three years.
The companies are also prohibited from retaliating against current or former employees involved in the investigation.
Attorney general says workers deserve full pay
“Denny’s workers kept these restaurants running through long days and late nights, and they deserve to be paid every dollar they earned,” James said. “These franchise owners ignored clear wage laws and shortchanged hardworking New Yorkers.”
The settlement is part of James’ ongoing efforts to investigate wage violations and recover unpaid wages for workers across New York.
Reveille Management and Top Line Restaurants did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Denny's franchise owners to pay $440K to NY workers in wage settlement
