Latest Restaurant Headlines
All the headlines from our Restaurant Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Chili’s Locations in Texas, Arkansas Sued for Sexual Harassment of Teens
Sep 13 2022 // Two Chili’s Grill & Bar Restaurants in Arkansas and Texas subjected female employees, including teens, to sexually hostile work environments in violation of federal law, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity...
Restaurants Working to Halt New California Fast Food Worker Law
Sep 13 2022 // Restaurant owners moved recently to at least temporarily block a nation-leading new California law giving more power to fast food workers. The owners want the state’s voters to ultimately decide the law’s...
Jackson Businesses Lost Water and Customers But Insurance Probably Won’t Cover
Sep 8 2022 // As they learned with the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, establishments that lost water service in troubled Jackson, Mississippi, this month are finding that their business interruption insurance policies won’t always...
Insurer Loses $500K in Beer Pong Challenge by Badly Misplaying Liquor Liability Claim
Sep 1 2022 // An insurer that mishandled a liquor liability claim resulting from a fight after a beer pong tournament has discovered the tab is considerably bigger than it first thought. Hospitality Mutual Insurance Co. will have to pay...
Texas Barbecue Owner, Manager Indicted in $350,000 Workers’ Fraud Scheme
Aug 26 2022 // The owner of an East Austin, Texas restaurant and her manager have been indicted and summoned to appear in Travis County District Court for their alleged role in a $350,000 workers’ compensation fraud scheme. Allison...
Celebrity Chef Mario Batali Settles 2 Lawsuits Alleging Sexual Assault
Aug 26 2022 // Mario Batali has agreed to settle two Massachusetts lawsuits that accused the celebrity chef of sexual assault, attorneys for the women said on Wednesday. The decision to settle the cases comes more than two months after...
Chipotle to Pay $20 Million to Workers for Unpaid Sick Leave, Scheduling Violations
Aug 10 2022 // Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. agreed to pay $20 million to an estimated 13,000 current and former employees of its restaurants in New York City to settle a claim that the chain repeatedly violated laws governing sick leave...
Woman Dining in Rhode Island Outdoor Restaurant Dies After Being Hit by Car
Jul 21 2022 // A woman sitting in the outdoor eating area of a restaurant died after she was struck by a vehicle, police in Warwick, Rhode Island said. The driver was traveling through the parking lot of Tommy’s Clam Shack on...
Appeals Court First to Rule in Favor of Coverage for COVID Shutdown
Jul 4 2022 // The attorney who filed the first U.S. lawsuit seeking insurance coverage for a business shut down because of coronavirus won the first policyholder victory in a state or federal appellate court that interpreted the meaning...
Appeals Court First to Rule in Favor of Coverage for COVID Shutdown
Jun 17 2022 // The attorney who filed the first U.S. lawsuit seeking insurance coverage for a business shut down because of coronavirus won the first policyholder victory in a state or federal appellate court that interpreted the meaning...
Pressure Growing to Remove PFAS from Fast Food Wrappers
Jun 8 2022 // Brenda Hampton first came across the toxic industrial compound PFAS after finding it was part of the cocktail of contaminants that tainted the drinking water in her North Alabama community. Hampton, who believes the...
Louisiana Restaurant to Settle $30,000 EEOC Lawsuit
May 31 2022 // A Louisiana restaurant admitted that it violated federal law when it fired and then later refused to rehire a worker because she was pregnant as part of federal court resolution with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity...
Florida Restaurants Go Hungry in Federal, State COVID Suits vs. Lloyd’s
May 12 2022 // Florida restaurants have had little success in recent lawsuits against Lloyd’s of London over insurance coverage for shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal,...
COVID-19 Orders Not an Excuse for Business to Skip Rent, Connecticut Court Rules
May 12 2022 // Connecticut’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that executive orders issued by Gov. Ned Lamont affecting restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic could not not be used by a Norwalk eatery as an excuse not to pay the...
Oklahoma Sues Operator of State Park Restaurants Over Contract Breach
May 9 2022 // The embattled director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department resigned and the state filed a lawsuit against the operator of six state park restaurants. The actions come amid investigations by state lawmakers...
New Hampshire Restaurants Pay $890K to Settle Back Wages Claims
Apr 28 2022 // Two New Hampshire restaurants in Derry and Londonderry and their owner have agreed to pay $890,169 to 63 employees to resolve numerous violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act following a U.S. Department of Labor...
Iowa Court Finds No Coverage for COVID Income Loss in 2 Decisions
Apr 26 2022 // The Iowa Supreme Court last week ruled in two separate decisions that COVID-19 did not cause a physical loss or damage that would allow a private golf club or a restaurant and bar to recoup income lost during COVID-19...
Massachusetts: First State Top Court Gives Industry a Win in Covid-19 Claims Case
Apr 21 2022 // The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in the first state high court ruling on the question, has sided with an insurer and an insurance agency in finding that the Covid-19 losses claimed by three restaurants were not...
Virginia Woman Bitten by Snake Endures Complex Disability, Financial, Legal Effects
Apr 20 2022 // It was the snakebite story shared around the globe. At least that’s how it felt to Rachel Myrick, who was bitten by a poisonous snake more than 41/2 years ago in the foyer of a Spotsylvania County restaurant. The...
Bar Owners Get No Relief from Florida’s COVID Shut-Down Orders
Apr 12 2022 // Florida’s 5th District Court of Appeal has affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of a suit brought by bar owners in Orlando who were shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Orlando Bar Group and its three...
