News in Brief March 31 – Outback, 7-Eleven and More

It’s a big day for news today. We have a popular restaurant chain being sued over possible discrimination, employees filing a lawsuit over a data breach, tea drinkers and store managers denied class certification, a wage and hour lawsuit filed in New Jersey, and a car maker accused of selling vehicles with a known defect.

Outback Steakhouse Hit with Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

Outback Steakhouse has been hit with a proposed class action claiming that its website can’t be used by visually impaired consumers. According to the lawsuit, the restaurant’s website is coded in a way that doesn’t allow it to be navigated with a keyboard and screen-reading software. The plaintiff claims that Outback’s website violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and is seeking monetary damages for a nationwide class, as well as an order to make the site easily accessible for the visually impaired.

Lamps Plus Facing Employee Data Breach Class Action

A proposed class action against Lamps Plus Inc. is claiming that the company failed to protect its employees from having their personal information stolen in a data breach. Allegedly, close to 1,300 Lamps Plus employees had their sensitive information exposed, in some cases resulting in fraudulent tax refunds being filed on their behalf. The lawsuit also claims that the company took shortcuts when it came to implementing security measures that could have prevented or lessened the damage done by the breach.

Proposed Bigelow Tea Class Denied Certification

A proposed class action claiming that Bigelow Inc. misled consumers about the antioxidant levels in its tea was denied certification in California federal court. According to the plaintiff, consumers were tricked into buying the tea because of labeling that claimed the teas were “packed with powerful antioxidants” and that this claim violated California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act. The judge, however, found that the plaintiff’s argument (that Bigelow’s tea was legally worthless) was implausible and wouldn’t be accepted by the court.

Nike Workers Class Loses Steam

Nike has avoided a proposed class action that claimed it misclassified its store managers as exempt employees. The case was denied certification because the plaintiff failed to prove that his claims applied to all store managers in California.

7-Eleven Accused of Wage and Hour Violations

7-Eleven has been hit with a proposed class action in New Jersey claiming that it illegally withheld overtime pay from employees who worked more than 40 hours per week. In addition to facing unpaid overtime allegations, 7-Eleven has been accused of failing to pay proper minimum wage and retaliating against employees when it found out about the litigation. The lawsuit is looking to represent employees from close to 90 stores under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Lawsuit Claims FCA Knew About Dodge Engine Defects

A proposed class action filed in California federal court is claiming that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) knew about an alleged defect in certain Dodge vehicles. The lawsuit alleges that certain Dodge Ram trucks manufactured in 2013 have a defect that causes them to fail emissions testing, resulting in financial loss due to the repairs that become necessary for the vehicles to be compliant.