Pizza delivery workers settle wage claims for nearly $1.3M
A Domino’s pizza franchisee in Manhattan has agreed to pay $1.28 million to 61 pizza delivery workers who claimed they were forced to do unpaid work.
The workers will receive amounts ranging from $61,300 to $400, depending on their length of employment, the New York Times reports.
One worker, Carlos Rodriguez Herrera, had claimed he often worked 65 hours a week but was paid for just 45 hours. Another, Anatole Yameogo, said one manager told him he would be paid for just 40 hours a week, though he should expect to work more than 50. The suit also asserted that the company should have paid full minimum wage to the workers, rather than the $5.65 tip wage, because records of tipped hours were incomplete.
The franchisee, DPNY Inc., filed for bankruptcy after the suit was filed. Domino’s said in a statement that the franchise owner owed several hundred thousand dollars in back royalties, but Domino’s was holding off in collecting the money to allow for payment of the settlement and other creditors.
David Melton is the owner of DPNY. He told the Times he settled to move forward with the business. “In any dispute people say things that may or may not be true, and that is the case here,” Melton said. “We made some mistakes in our business.”
