New York Attorney General Letitia James secured $440,000 from Denny’s franchise owners Reveille Management, LLC and Top Line Restaurants, Inc. after an Office of the Attorney General investigation found that the companies failed to pay required wages to more than 1,900 workers in Western New York. The companies, owned by Arizona-based couple Glenn and Tina Beattie, operate Denny’s restaurants in at least five states, including 23 locations across Western New York.
The investigation found that, since 2019, the workers completed more than 20,000 shifts that qualified for “spread of hours” pay but were not properly compensated. New York law requires restaurant workers to receive one additional hour of pay at the state minimum wage rate for any workday longer than 10 hours. The payment applies by day rather than by shift and includes consecutive shifts worked within one day, meal breaks, rest periods, and time between shifts. Employers must provide the payment for every qualifying workday, whether an employee requests it or not.
The OAG opened its investigation in December 2024 after a Denny’s employee complained that the company was not paying for extended shifts. According to the investigation, Reveille Management and Top Line Restaurants paid spread of hours wages only sporadically, usually after an employee or manager requested them. The companies also failed to notify employees of their right to the payment and did not include the requirement in their employee handbook. “Denny’s workers kept these restaurants running through long days and late nights, and they deserve to be paid every dollar they earned,” Attorney General James said.
Restitution and required reforms
A settlement administrator engaged by the OAG will distribute the $440,000 directly to eligible current and former workers. Eligible workers will receive notices by mail, email, and/or text explaining the settlement and how to file a claim. The franchise owners will pay up to $40,000 for the administrator’s costs, and none of the settlement funds will revert to the companies.
The settlement also requires the franchise owners to change their human resources policies and practices. They must notify managers and employees about wage and hour policies, update the employee handbook, identify spread of hours payments on earnings statements, and train employees on New York and federal wage and hour laws. The companies must also conduct annual anti-harassment and anti-discrimination training, designate a contact to review complaints received by the OAG, and submit regular compliance reports for three years. They are forbidden from retaliating against current or former employees who participated in the investigation.
The matter was handled by members of the OAG’s Labor Bureau, including Assistant Attorney General Lawrence J. Reina, Auditor Investigator Erica Ciccarelli, and Civil Enforcement Section Chief Fiona Kaye, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Karen Cacace.