Pret A Manger has agreed to pay almost $1m to settle a class action lawsuit for underpaying staff at its sandwich locations in New York.
The lawsuit was filed against the chain earlier this month alleging that the company violated US labour laws by rounding down staff working hours through an illegal practice called time-shaving, reported The Times.
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The company decided to settle for $875,000 following mediation. It settled a similar lawsuit in 2014 by paying a $910,000 settlement.
In a statement, Pret A Manger told City AM: “We are absolutely committed to making sure all our team members are paid for all the hours that they work.”
Earlier this month, the company introduced more comprehensive ingredient labelling on its products following the death of 15-year-old girl Natasha Ednan-Laperouse in 2016. The girl suffered a fatal cardiac arrest following an allergic reaction to sesame seeds within a Pret sandwich that were not listed on the product’s labelling. The British teenager purchased the item at a Pret outlet in Heathrow airport.
The company’s CEO Clive Schlee also faced criticism for the way he handled the situation.
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By GlobalDataIn addition, the company is involved in two other cases for allegedly misleading customers by labelling some of its products as ‘natural’ when they contained chemical glyphosate.
