In a significant legal move, a former employee has filed a class-action lawsuit against a chain of restaurants for alleged violations of labor laws. Julian Rogen initiated the complaint on April 3, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Breakfast House Restaurant Inc. and its associated entities, along with Jaime Jara, the owner and operator.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants willfully violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to pay overtime wages owed to employees. According to Rogen, who worked as a dishwasher at various Breakfast House locations from December 2023 until March 2025, he was regularly scheduled to work over 40 hours per week but was not compensated at the legally required overtime rate. Instead, he received straight-time pay for all hours worked beyond the standard 40-hour workweek. The complaint further accuses Jara of exercising significant control over employment conditions and compensation methods across all Breakfast House entities. "Defendants deprived employees of their rights under the FLSA," states the filing, highlighting that this practice affected numerous other current and former employees.
Rogen's lawsuit seeks collective action status under Section 16(b) of the FLSA for all similarly situated employees who were subjected to similar wage practices within three years preceding this case. The plaintiff demands several forms of relief from the court: an order requiring notification to potential class members about their right to join the lawsuit; compensation for unpaid wages; liquidated damages; pre-judgment and post-judgment interest; reasonable attorney’s fees; and any other appropriate equitable relief deemed necessary by the court.
Additionally, Rogen brings claims under Illinois state law and Chicago city code for failure to pay overtime wages as mandated by these local regulations. The plaintiff aims to certify these claims as class actions under Rule 23 due to commonality in questions of law or fact among affected employees. He asserts that more than forty individuals have been similarly impacted by these alleged unlawful wage practices.
Representing Rogen are attorneys James M. Dore from Dore Law Offices LLC and Daniel Schlade from Law Office of Daniel I. Schlade. The case is identified as Case No. 1:25-cv-03617 in front of an unspecified judge in Cook County, Illinois.