The Department of Labor announced a settlement with the owners of three
Papa John’s Pizza franchise stores in Brooklyn, New York. According to the
lawsuit, the three locations violated minimum wage and
overtime requirements,
and took unlawful
deductions from workers’ wages by failing to reimburse all work-related
expenses. In total, the owner has agreed to pay $171,895.12 in restitution and
damages to over 100 underpaid workers.
“Today’s settlement underscores a shameful track record of New York Papa
John’s franchisees cheating vulnerable workers to line their own pockets,”
said Attorney General Schneiderman.
“With this agreement, my office has won back more than $4.5 million for hundreds
of underpaid Papa John’s employees. We will continue to defend the rights of
all workers and fight pervasive wage theft
in the fast food industry.”
The agreement follows an investigation into the Papa John’s franchisees
that began in 2013. According to the lawsuit, the employer admitted having
violated the law by not paying workers the overtime wages required under the federal Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA) and state law, by not paying the workers an additional
hour at minimum wage when employees’ daily shifts were longer than 10 hours in
violation of New York State’s “spread of
hours” regulations; and by not reimbursing the workers for the cost of
the uniforms that
they were required to purchase and wear.
