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Taco Bell workers win suit Local crews could recover lost wages By JOHN DARLING Several thousand employees of Taco Bell in Medford, Grants Pass and Ashland may be reimbursed for years of back wages following a class action victory Friday. A Multnomah County Circuit Court jury in a seven-week Portland trial found Taco Bell liable after 60 former workers testified about a "willful pattern or practice" of overtime work without pay, a routine shaving of 5 to 10 minutes off time cards, unpaid "cleaning parties" and insertion of unpaid breaks into time cards when none were taken. About a dozen former employees of seven Taco Bell stores in Medford, Ashland and Grants Pass confirmed the practices in trial testimony during the target period of 1993-96. "These stores were among the worst," said plaintiff�s attorney David Mark, Portland. "The corporation set numbers to hit (for hours and profits) and put pressure at every level, in every store to hit those numbers and they didn�t care how you hit them, so they were hit by cheating workers. It�s harder to make money in the smaller stores, so there�s more temptation to cheat people there." Bob Weaver, attorney for Taco Bell, said he would seek judicial review of the verdict before deciding whether to appeal. He said there was no systematic abuse of a strict labor policy and that Taco Bell responded quickly when it was made aware of isolated complaints by firing some managers. "We have fair policies in place and work hard to treat our people well," said Laurie Gannon, a Taco Bell spokeswoman at company headquarters in Irvine, Calif. The trial established Taco Bell�s liability, with compensation and penalties to be established in a trial later this year, Mark said, indicating it would likely be in the range of the $3 million award in an identical Washington state case against Taco Bell. The corporation has already paid out $800,000 in Oregon, he said. Taco Bell employees almost never got state-mandated 15-minute breaks and, though they worked through their half-hour lunch breaks, managers deducted the break from cards, said Kevin Ray of Medford, a Taco Bell shift manager for seven years. Ray settled with Taco Bell for $59,000 before the trial. "The managers had to adjust the numbers so they came out right," Ray said. "If you had two hours� overtime, they would take it off your card and say they�d put it in the next pay period, but they never did, because overtime wasn�t allowed by the corporation." Unpaid "cleaning parties" were routine on Thanksgiving and Christmas, the only days when Taco Bell was closed and could be thoroughly cleaned, said Ron Sherrod, Medford, a Taco Bell shift manager in Medford and Grants Pass for seven years. Sherrod settled with Taco Bell for $20,000 before the trial. "I routinely worked 10- or 11-hour shifts and got paid for eight. Once I worked a 23-hour day and got paid for eight. As a manager, if someone called in sick, you took their shift and yours. If you wanted to get anywhere you had to prove yourself and pay your dues." Ray is one of five Rogue Valley workers who settled as a group. Another Grants Pass worker settled for $74,000, the largest out-of-court settlement ever received in such a case, Mark said. Some 14,000 Oregon Taco Bell employees were eligible to join the suit. Recipients of the pre-trial settlements are still eligible for recovery of 240 hours of back pay because the violations were "willful," he said. "I�m pleased with the verdict," said Ray. "I want to see things change at Taco Bell and the publicity should be beneficial to anyone who thinks they have to stay on the job regardless." Sherrod echoed the sentiment. "I feel good. The jury sent a message to employers that they can�t get away with this and to employees that endured this that they�ll get what they�re entitled to." The case, said Mark, is one where "a couple of workers got together, decided they were fed up and showed they could take on a big corporation and win." Taco Bell, a nationwide chain, is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. With Pizza Hut and KFC, it is part of Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc. Claimants may determine eligibility by calling attorneys in the class action case at 800-422-4604. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.