Restaurant chain accused of ‘systemic’ wage theft in class-action suit
A former worker accused a Mexican fast-food chain with 19 locations in the Las Vegas Valley of systemically committing wage theft by not properly paying for overtime work.
In a class-action lawsuit filed this week in Clark County, Talon Bedjohn is accusing Cafe Rio of not paying him properly when he worked overtime when he was employed there from March to October 2023.
The plaintiff’s attorneys — Christian Gabroy and Kaine Messer, who are partners at the Gabroy Messer law firm — allege that Cafe Rio has a “systemic” form of wage theft.
“This is the common type of wage theft that is pervasive in America,” Gabroy said in an interview. “What’s going on behind the scenes here is that they’re enriching profits, at the detriment of our clients.”
A spokesperson for Cafe Rio said the company learned about the lawsuit this week and is “fully investigating” the allegations.
In Nevada, a company is required to pay 1.5 times an employee’s normal hourly wage once the employee starts working overtime. The overtime rate kicks in once employees work more than eight hours in a 24-hour period or if they work more than 40 hours a week.
A time sheet filed with the lawsuit shows Bedjohn would work more than eight hours in a 24-hour period, working a night and a morning shift on consecutive days, but didn’t get overtime pay. But it also shows that when Bedjohn worked over eight hours in a single shift, he did get overtime pay.
Founded in St. George, Utah, in 1997, Cafe Rio has expanded by more than 50 percent over the past five years, according to the company. It said it planned to have 163 locations open by the end of 2023 across 11 states.
Currently, the class-action lawsuit only has one plaintiff, but Gabroy and Messer said they will “pursue it everywhere” and take the necessary steps to let current or former Cafe Rio employees sign on, even if they worked at locations outside Clark County.
The lawsuit is meant to ensure Cafe Rio pays properly for overtime work, Gabroy and Messer said. They also said they aren’t looking to unduly harm the company.
“If they want to do the right thing and come to the table and try to make right by these people, great,” Messer said. “And if not, we’re not going anywhere, and we’re in this for the long haul.”
Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow @seanhemmers34 on X.