Employee Expense Reimbursement Lawsuit Alleges Pizza Hut Drivers Were Underpaid

An employee expense reimbursement lawsuit was granted conditional certification for nearly 550 Pizza Hut delivery drivers who claim they were inadequately compensated for driving expenses, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Lead plaintiff Wayne Meetz made the motion for conditional certification of the drivers at 73 Wisconsin restaurants, and Chief U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach granted the motion Aug. 29.

Those who worked as delivery drivers since Sept. 30, 2013 are included if they earned a delivery wage of $5.25 per hour and in-store non-delivery wage of $7.25 per hour while working at a Pizza Hut franchise run by Wisconsin Hospitality Group LLC and PH Hospitality Group LLC.

The judge indicated his order reflects the decisions made in other district courts throughout the country that have given conditional certifications to pizza delivery drivers seeking FLSA collective action over allegations of the employer failing to meet federal minimum wage requirements. The per-delivery employee expense reimbursement policies “fail to reasonably approximate actual vehicle expenses,” the judge said.

“Because (the) evidence suggests that delivery drivers employed by defendants were subject to a common compensation and reimbursement policy that resulted in their failure to receive the federal minimum wage, I conclude that they are similarly situated and that condition certification of a collective action under the FLSA is therefore appropriate,” says Judge Griesbach’s order.

Employee Expense Reimbursement Lawsuit Claims Drivers Underpaid

Meetz claims he was underpaid while employed by Wisconsin Hospitality Group as a delivery driver at an Appleton, Wisc. Pizza Hut from January 2015 to November 2015. Meetz says in his lawsuit that his employer required his vehicle to comply with certain safety and maintenance requirements that included expenses for fuel, oil changes, brakes and brake pads, tire rotations, batteries, insurance and registration.

The employee expense reimbursement plan allegedly fell short of covering vehicle-related expenses, claims an amended complaint filed Nov. 17.  Meetz alleges the $7.25 per hour for in-restaurant work and $5.25 per hour plus $2 tip credit to the franchise for delivery work fails to equal any reasonable approximation of actual vehicle expenses the drivers incurred, which equates to a failure to pay works the federal minimum wage.

Twenty-five opt-in plaintiffs have joined the filing by sending written consent forms to the court, said the judge. In March, Meetz told the judge he was amenable to keeping the proposed collective class smaller by excluding drivers who were paid higher employee expense reimbursement rates in the Milwaukee area.

In April, Wisconsin Hospitality Group opposed the conditional certification motion, insisting evidence existed that the per delivery reimbursement rate of $1 or $2 was indeed a fair and accurate estimate of driving expenses.

Judge Griesbach replied, “It is well-established that proof of an actual FLSA violation is not a prerequisite to conditional certification.”

Meetz’s attorney of record was appointed collective action counsel by the judge. In addition, Wisconsin Hospitality Group was ordered to provide an updated list of potential class members to said counsel.

The Employee Expense Reimbursement Lawsuit is Wayne Meetz v. Wisconsin Hospitality Group LLC et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-01313 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

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