Lawsuit: Papa John’s Delivery Drivers Paid Well Below Minimum Wage

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Mountain View Pizza Co., Black Hills Pizza, Inc., and Choose the Right Pizza, LLC are facing a proposed class and collective action alleging the defendants, which together operate at least 17 Papa John’s Pizza restaurants, failed to pay delivery drivers proper wages. Specifically, the suit argues that the companies didn’t correctly reimburse drivers for the costs of operating their own vehicles – expenses that, when subtracted from employees’ pay, caused their wages to fall below the state and federal minimum.

The plaintiff in the case says he has worked for the defendants as a delivery driver since January 2015 and is paid approximately $1.00 per delivery to cover the costs of gasoline, maintenance, repairs, insurance, depreciation, and other expenses related to his delivery duties. After dividing by the plaintiff’s average mileage per delivery, the lawsuit estimates his reimbursement rate to be about $.167 per mile, well below the IRS’s recommended business mileage reimbursement rate for the relevant time period, which, at its lowest, was $.535, the suit argues. Therefore, the complaint calculates, the plaintiff’s hourly wage, after subtracting the defendant’s “kickbacks,” ranged between $3.63 and $3.88, an amount far below federal and state required minimum rates.