---
title: "Judge Rules Steak ‘n Shake Owes $7.7 Million in Unpaid Overtime in Class-Action Suit"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/bc927fc1-6eb1-4dfc-9344-de6160abf1e8
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/judge-rules-steak-n-shake-owes-77-million-in-unpaid-overtime-in-class-action-suit-2709970
category: "Burger"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "Burger"
topics: ["Finance & M&A"]
published: 2019-05-15T17:12:46.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:27:54.125Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/1b60b98f9eaeae21ea88843b973057b05259.jpg
---

# Judge Rules Steak ‘n Shake Owes $7.7 Million in Unpaid Overtime in Class-Action Suit

**TL;DR:** A federal judge has ruled that Steak 'n Shake must pay $7.7 million in unpaid overtime wages to 286 store managers in a class-action suit. The managers accused Steak 'n Shake of improperly classifying them as exempt and requiring them to work long hours in non-managerial roles.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2019-05-15. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/judge-rules-steak-n-shake-owes-77-million-in-unpaid-overtime-in-class-action-suit-2709970).*

## Story

A federal judge in Missouri has ruled in favor of 286 store managers in the St. Louis market, ordering Steak ‘n Shake to pay the group $7.7 million in unpaid overtime wages.

The payout in the class-action suit was awarded after a jury agreed Steak ‘n Shake was liable for federal wage and hour violations back in February. According to a recent Restaurant Business article , the managers accused the franchisor of improperly classifying them as exempt, then requiring them to work 50 hours or more per week and in fundamentally non-managerial roles when restaurants were understaffed.

The article also notes that Steak ‘n Shake is facing another class-action suit of this nature covering a class of 1,000 managers beyond the St. Louis area.

Maddie has spent her career in the media industry, serving in various editorial roles before migrating into a hybrid content strategy and PR role with No Limit Agency. Her passion for storytelling and love of writing help her create meaningful content on behalf of her clients and fulfill No Limit Agency’s mission to tell people-driven stories. Maddie is a graduate of Saint Louis University, where she studied Communications with a focus in journalism and media studies as well as Sports Business.

In her spare time, Maddie can be found exploring Chicago’s food scene, watching an NBA game or lamenting over her middling fantasy baseball team.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- Steak 'n Shake (company)
- class action suit (topic)
- wage and hour violations (topic)
- unpaid overtime (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/judge-rules-steak-n-shake-owes-77-million-in-unpaid-overtime-in-class-action-suit-2709970). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/bc927fc1-6eb1-4dfc-9344-de6160abf1e8).