Waffle House Staff Wins Overtime Pay

A federal judge awarded nearly $2.9 million in overtime pay, plus interest, to Waffle House restaurant managers who said they regularly worked as cooks and servers and put in nearly twice as many hours as they were told to expect.

The lawsuit brought by 125 current and former managers against Treetop Enterprises Inc., which owns about 100 Waffle House franchises, claimed the managers were told to expect to work 53 hours a week. Instead, they regularly worked 80 to 100 hours a week and worked as cooks and filled in for servers, the managers testified.

Nashville-based Treetop contended the managers were exempt from federal laws governing work hours and pay.

The restaurant chain said it will appeal. Waffle House, based in Norcross, Ga., has 1,300 restaurants in 26 states.