California Pizza Delivery Drivers Allege Underpayment for Years in Violation of FLSA

A group of California pizza delivery drivers has filed a wage and hour class action lawsuit against Southern California Pizza Company, LLC, which operates more than 225 Pizza Hut restaurants.

Plaintiffs say they were employed by the company in one or more hourly, non-exempt positions in a minimum of one retail location in California. Lead plaintiff Jacob B. worked as a delivery driver from December 2016 through February 2017.

According to the complaint, the pizza delivery drivers were required to use their personal vehicles and cell phones on the job, but were not reimbursed for the associated costs. Southern California Pizza Company allegedly violated the Federal Labor Standards Act and Labor Code sections by failing to pay drivers for their expenses or losses incurred.

In addition, non-driver hourly employees allege they had to purchase and maintain employer-required uniforms without reimbursement, in violation of the Labor Code.  The company also allegedly required employees to wear particular black non-slip shoes that were ordered from a “Shoes for Crews”catalog for them, and the plaintiffs claim the company unlawfully deducted the cost of the shoes from their wages.

Pizza Delivery Drivers Allege Underpayment

The pizza delivery drivers allege they had to take late meal breaks or work through their meal breaks. When they were denied their meal periods, they claim, they allegedly were not provided with an hour of additional straight time pay.

The pizza delivery drivers and in-store staff accuse Southern California Pizza Company of denying them their 10-minute rest periods every four hours because of understaffing. One plaintiff made note that whenever he would ask for a rest break at any time throughout his employment, his manager purportedly always replied, “No, not right now.”

The company also allegedly required employees to work off the clock by clocking out at the end of a shift, but continuing to work off-the-clock without pay until their work was done. The company allegedly adjusted the time cards manually to make sure the hours worked after a shift ended were erased from the employee’s time records. For some employees, those extra hours allegedly pushed them beyond 40 hours within a work week, which means they should have been paid overtime pay.

Plaintiffs claim Southern California Pizza Company allegedly underpaid the pizza delivery drivers by paying them a flat rate of 80 cents per delivery to cover their expenses. During the relevant period of time, $7.25 was the federal minimum wage for non-tipped employees and the federal minimum wage for tipped employees was $2.13 an hour.

According to the pizza delivery drivers lawsuit, nationally accepted minimum reimbursement calculations for business travel add up to $20 an hour for each pizza delivery driver to operate and maintain their personal vehicles. This calculation purportedly places the drivers’ hourly wage well below the federal minimum amount, in violation of the FLSA.

When an employee either quit or was terminated, Southern California Pizza Company allegedly failed to pay the hourly employee all wages that were owed at the time of the employee’s separation from the company.

The Pizza Delivery Drivers Lawsuit is Case No. 8:18-cv-01003, in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Orange.

Join a Free California Wage & Hour Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay within the past 3 years in California, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone.

Get a Free Case Evaluation Now