New York City officials said on Monday that Salz Management LLC has agreed to pay in excess of $1.5 million to settle allegations that managers at roughly two dozen Taco Bell and Dunkin restaurants failed to comply with the city’s fast-food scheduling law.
The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, which announced the settlement, said the company routinely did not provide workers with adequate advance notice of their schedules. City investigators also alleged that the franchisee failed to pay additional wages for "clopening" shifts - where an employee closes a store one night and returns to open it the next morning - and did not offer available shifts to existing employees before hiring new workers, among other claims.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who took office in January and ran in part on a platform of strengthening enforcement of worker protection laws, is expected to make an announcement about the settlement in the coming days, city officials said.
In a related action, the city said it has filed suit against another Dunkin franchisee, QSR Management LLC, and its managing corporate officer Ronny Nader. The complaint alleges violations of the New York City scheduling rules affecting roughly 1,000 workers at 21 Dunkin locations in Staten Island. The city noted that the same franchisee was required in 2022 to provide relief to more than 100 workers.
Neither Salz Management LLC nor QSR Management LLC responded to requests for comment by publication time, the city said. The parent companies for the respective brands - Yum Brands for Taco Bell and Inspire Brands for Dunkin - did not respond to requests for comment.
The actions come after a larger settlement announced in December in which the city said Starbucks would pay $38.9 million to resolve claims it violated the scheduling law. At that time the office of then-mayor Eric Adams described the Starbucks resolution as the largest worker protection settlement in the city's history. City officials said Mayor Mamdani publicly praised that agreement during a press conference with Senator Bernie Sanders at a picket of striking Starbucks workers on the day the settlement was announced.
New York City was among the first jurisdictions in the United States to place limits on so-called on-call scheduling, a practice in which employers call workers in or cancel shifts with little notice. The city said similar measures have been adopted in places including Oregon, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco, as well as several other U.S. cities.
According to public metrics cited by the city, in 2025 New York opened 57 investigations into fast-food employers for potential violations of the scheduling law. Business groups have criticized these types of scheduling regulations, arguing they can be difficult to implement and may prompt employers to reduce staffing.
Key points
- Salz Management LLC agreed to pay more than $1.5 million to settle allegations of scheduling-law violations at about two dozen Taco Bell and Dunkin restaurants.
- The city is suing QSR Management LLC and its managing corporate officer Ronny Nader over alleged violations affecting roughly 1,000 workers at 21 Staten Island Dunkin stores; that franchisee previously provided relief to more than 100 workers in 2022.
- Enforcement activity follows a $38.9 million settlement with Starbucks announced in December and broader municipal efforts to restrict on-call scheduling.
Risks and uncertainties
- Ongoing investigations and litigation: The city has opened dozens of inquiries into possible scheduling-law breaches, and additional enforcement actions or lawsuits could affect other fast-food operators and franchisees.
- Operational and staffing impacts: Business groups warn scheduling rules can be hard to implement and may lead some employers to cut jobs or alter staffing practices.
- Reputational and financial exposure for franchisees: Settlements and suits can impose significant financial obligations and attract public scrutiny for franchised operators.