Claim Jumper Doesn’t Pay Minimum Wage,|Restaurant Workers Say in Class Action

SANTA ANA, Calif. (CN) - Claim Jumper, the West Coast restaurant chain known for its enormous portions, forces workers to attend meetings off the clock, does not pay minimum wage, and "fabricated" the number of hours worked and the wages due on workers' paychecks, a class action claims in Orange County Court.

The named plaintiff claims the class consists of more than 500 aggrieved food servers. He claims Claim Jumper Enterprises also fails to pay all wages due when workers quit or are discharged.

"As a direct and proximate result of defendant's failure to pay plaintiff and other employees the wages mandated by law, none of the statements provided by defendant to plaintiff and other employees have accurately reflected actual gross wages earned, or net wages earned and the number of hours worked listed on paychecks has no basis in reality but was fabricated by defendants to accommodate defendant's unlawful payment scheme," the complaint states. "Additionally, those statements have failed to accurately reflect the deductions withheld by defendant."

Irvine-based Claim Jumper has 45 outlets in California and other Western states, according to the company's Web site.

Plaintiffs demand lost wages, penalties and an injunction. They are represented by David Ezra with Berger Kahn of Irvine.

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