Salz Management Dunkin' and Taco Bell NYC fast food worker restitution

Who may be eligible

New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection announced on March 24, 2026 that Salz Management, which runs 24 Dunkin' and Taco Bell locations in Manhattan and Queens, would pay more than $1.5 million to more than 760 workers, plus more than $155,000 in penalties and costs, for breaking the city's Fair Workweek Law — schedules posted without 14 days' notice, hours added without consent, and premiums never paid. DCWP says workers do not need to file a complaint to receive a payment: checks and direct deposits start in August 2026, with a second payment listed for January 2027. If you worked at one of those stores you may be eligible, and nothing about this costs you anything.

The notice states no state limit, so it is usually nationwide. Covered: Fast food work at Dunkin' locations run by Salz Management, Fast food work at Taco Bell locations run by Salz Management.

Only the official administrator or agency decides who is paid, and its own page is the authority on who is covered.

How much it may pay

Share of a $1.5M fund. Every figure here is an estimate from public materials, not a guarantee: many settlements pay pro rata or only after a claims review, so final amounts commonly land well below the advertised maximum.

There is no claim form — DCWP's notice says workers do not need to file a complaint to receive a payment, because the agency worked out who is owed from the employer's own scheduling records. Fair Workweek restitution is calculated from the premiums owed for each late schedule, added shift or cancelled shift, so amounts vary a great deal between workers and none is guaranteed. Payments arrive by check or direct deposit.

DCWP puts the Salz Management settlement at more than $1.5 million in restitution for workers plus more than $155,000 in civil penalties and costs. The penalties go to the city; the restitution is what workers are paid from.

The administrator pays approved claims by Check, Direct deposit.

What the deadline is

There is no claim deadline because there is nothing to file. The official page says when payments go out and how long a check or digital payment stays valid once sent.

DCWP says checks and direct deposits to these workers begin in August 2026, and the city's restitution page lists a second payment in January 2027.

What proof is needed

No claim to file — payments are sent automatically.

The administrator pays consumers it has already identified, so the useful step is to make sure it can reach you, not to file anything. Anyone offering to file this for you, for a fee, is selling you nothing.

How to file for free

There is no claim form. The official program page, run by New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, explains who is being paid and how to reach the administrator if a payment is expected and has not arrived.

Never give a Social Security number, bank login or card number to a site that is not the official administrator or agency page.

Why this case happened

New York City's Fair Workweek Law requires fast food employers to publish schedules 14 days ahead, to get a worker's written consent before adding hours, and to pay a premium when a shift is changed or cancelled late. DCWP found that Salz Management LLC, which operates 24 Dunkin' and Taco Bell locations across Manhattan and Queens, had broken those rules, and announced on March 24, 2026 that it would pay more than $1.5 million in restitution to more than 760 workers plus more than $155,000 in penalties and costs. The same announcement covered Theory LLC and an enforcement petition against a separate Dunkin' franchisee on Staten Island.