Courtney Jorstad  |  February 17, 2014

Category: Labor & Employment

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jimmy john's wage and hour lawsuitA Kansas man has filed a wage and hour lawsuit against Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwich shop, accusing the company of not properly compensating delivery drivers for the use of their own vehicles.

Jimmy John’s delivery man Scott Lewis of Witchita filed the wage and hour lawsuit in November against Bushwood Investments LLC, which owns and operates more than 30 Jimmy John’s restaurants throughout the country and employs more than 300 delivery drivers.

Jimmy John’s drivers “use their own automobiles to deliver sandwiches and other food items to customers,” the wage and hour lawsuit explains. “Instead of compensating delivery drivers for the reasonably approximate costs of the business use of their vehicles, defendant used a flawed method to determine reimbursement rates.”

Delivery drivers who work for the restaurant are reportedly required to pay for keeping their vehicles safe and in good working condition and to cover insurance policies for the automobiles.

“[Jimmy John’s] delivery drivers incur costs for gasoline, vehicle parts and fluids, automobile repair and maintenance services, automobile insurance, depreciation, and cell phone use while delivering sandwiches for the primary benefit of the defendant,” the wage and hour lawsuit says.

However, Lewis says in his wage and hour lawsuit that Jimmy John’s does not reimburse drivers for insurance costs and does not provide its drivers with GPS systems to use while driving but leaves drivers to rely on GPS systems the driver’s cell phones, which they are also not reimbursed for.

Lewis says the sandwich shop company does not explain to its employees the method it uses for calculating automobile reimbursements.

Also, Jimmy John’s allegedly requires their employees to be paid through direct deposit or a payroll card from InTrust Bank. According to the wage and hour lawsuit, employees paid with a payroll card do not receive a paycheck stub detailing “their hours, reimbursement, or withholdings.” To get this information, they have to make a special request to their employer.

Jimmy John’s has system that tracks both the number of deliveries made as well as the location of each delivery. “Despite the relative ease of tracking actual miles driven by its drivers, [Jimmy John’s] does not do so,” the wage and hour lawsuit states. “Instead, defendant reimburses delivery drivers using a set amount for each delivery, regardless of length.”

Drivers are also allegedly not paid if a driver has to go back to a location in the event that a problem arises. This can be especially problematic because “when a delivery order is voided by the store, the transaction no longer appears in the defendant’s computer system” and drivers are not reimbursed for the delivery at all.

As a result of the way Jimmy John’s calculates reimbursements for automobiles, Lewis argues that the net reimbursement is much less “than the reasonably approximated automobile expenses of defendant’s delivery drivers.”

The Kansas man alleges that the “reimbursement policy does not reimburse delivery drivers for even their out-of-pocket expenses, much less other costs they incur to own and operate their vehicle. … In sum, defendant’s reimbursement policy and methodology fails to reflect the realities of delivery drivers’ automobile expenses.”

Because of the low reimbursement rate, Lewis argues that when combined with his hourly rate, it results in “violations of the federal minimum wage requirements.”

There are several wage and hour lawsuits that have been filed recently against companies alleging that employees are not properly compensated for their work, primarily in the service sector. A lawsuit against a Domino’s Pizza franchisor in New York City was recently settled for $1.3 million with bicycle delivery drivers who alleged they were not being paid minimum wage, only tips, while they were doing non-tip work in addition to their regular deliveries.

The Jimmy John’s wage and hour lawsuit is Lewis v. Bushwood Investments LLC, Case No. 2:13-cv-02610, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.

If you or someone you know did not receive all the money they earned, legal options are available to you. Learn more and get a free consultation regarding a claim’s eligibility at the Wage & Hour Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Experienced legal professionals are able to determine if you have a case. You could receive back pay as well as penalties. Don’t delay — the statute of limitations under the Fair Labor Standards Act is two to three years, depending on the state, so act now.

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2 thoughts onDelivery Drivers Hit Jimmy John’s With Wage and Hour Lawsuit

  1. aaron says:

    This is a joke. I work for Jimmy Johns. My whole compensation is my reimbursement for my full effort including the money i spend on mileage and phone costs.

    If I’m not happy with my aggregate compensation I will negotiate a higher hourly wage or leave.

    This suit is job security for the court system and lawyers. But I guess if you need a court system to help you get a raise… whatever it takes to make more money right? Nothing wrong with hiring professional help in your negotiations with your employer.

    1. Taylor says:

      I work for Jimmy Johns and there is only a set amount per delivery regardless the length of delivery compensation out of todays 12 deliveries i only made 3.52 in compensation.

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