Domino’s Delivery Driver Files California Wage and Hour Lawsuit

Pizza franchise giant Domino’s is being hit with a major wage and hour lawsuit from a pizza delivery driver, who is accusing 70 store locations of violating state and federal labor laws.

Lead plaintiff Derek G. is targeting Domino’s stores in California and Arizona in his class action lawsuit, alleging that the company does not reimburse their drivers for the costs of using their own personal vehicles for work purposes, which directly violates the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and California wage and hour laws.

Citing his own experience, Derek claims that franchise operator Hishmeh Enterprises Inc. uses an inaccurate system to determine reimbursement rates for drivers, traditionally $1 per trip, which allegedly does not even remotely match-up to the costs the drivers incur by using their own vehicles. Derek states that this was a systemic failure on the defendant’s part to adhere to state and federal wage laws. He claims that the franchise operator owner did not adequately repay them for their driving expenses, which had directly undercut their hourly wage and hour rate.

According to the wage and labor lawsuit, Derek had been employed at an Oxnard, Calif. Domino’s location since May 2013, and was paid standard California minimum wage rates. However, he and the drivers were only reimbursed at $1 per delivery, which increased to $2 when deliveries were between 15 to 20 miles away. Derek’s lawsuit stated that the average delivery distance was four miles, at an average reimbursement rate of 25 cents per mile, or 32.5 cents below the current IRS policy of 57.5 cents per mile. In total, the reimbursement rate would be $1.30 per delivery for an average trip.

Furthermore, Derek’s class action lawsuit claims that he averages 2.5 deliveries per hour, which means that his “kickback” should be $3.25 an hour, compared with IRS reimbursement rates. Effectively, this results in the plaintiff’s hourly wage being $5.75, below the state’s minimum wage rate. The Domino’s class action lawsuit alleges that all Hishmeh drivers suffer wage cuts because they were reimbursed under the same system.

Overview of California Wage and Hour Policies

While California labor laws does not require an employer to reimburse their driving employees at the rate set by the IRS, it still requires some level of reimbursement for all employment-related expenses. Additionally, the state generally encourages employers to be match the IRS as soon as possible.

The net effect of defendant’s allegedly flawed reimbursement policy is that it fails to pay the federal and state minimum wage to its delivery drivers. The defendant thereby enjoys ill-gained profits at the expense of its employees,” according to the Domino’s class action lawsuit filed in California federal court.

The FLSA provides federal wage protections for hourly employees across America, which help enhance state wage provisions. California has some of the best wage and hour policies for employees, along with strict overtime provisions that employers must adhere to. Any violations of either state or federal policy could result in massive fines for the employers. However, this does not stop employers from committing infractions against these policies, often done with the intention to maintain profit. Some of the most common wage and labor violations in California and the rest of states include unpaid overtime, unpaid meal breaks, unpaid break times, tip pooling, and misclassifying employees to prevent them from receiving overtime.

Derek’s class action lawsuit seeks to include an estimate of several hundred current and former California Hishmeh delivery drivers from the past four years. This class action lawsuit follows another wage and hour class action lawsuit filed in Georgia, accusing Domino’s of similar infractions.

The California Wage and Hour Lawsuit is Case No. 2:15-cv-02175, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division.

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