BOSTON (CBS) – Upper Crust filed for Chapter 11 protection, after defaulting on a bank loan of more than $3 million. But that apparently won’t derail a class action lawsuit against the Boston company.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030′s Anthony Silva reports

The chain with 16 locations had been growing quickly, but in recent years was hit with a series of labor law citations, infighting between its three owners, and now an employee lawsuit.

Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan tells me the case is certified as a class action. She represents former Upper Crust employees who claim that when the chain was ordered by the Department of Labor a couple of years ago to repay workers for overtime violations, the company made the payments but then demanded the money back from workers if they wanted to keep their jobs.

Liss-Riordan says along with recovering that money, the suit also claims Upper Crust retaliated against employees who either didn’t give all the money back, or complained about it. She says about 70 employees gave the money back to the company after receiving checks from the Labor Department. Liss-Riordan says a number of others refused, and lost their jobs.

Upper Crust hired many of its employees from a poor village in Brazil.