Papa John's Pizza's California Wage Theft Lawsuit Settled for $3.4 Million
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When California workers filed suit against Papa John's International, some wondered if the case would present an opportunity to clarify joint employer responsibility guidelines. Instead, Papa John's requested that the Central District of California approve a $3.4 million settlement to resolve the case.
Papa John's Wage Theft Lawsuit Allegations:
The wage theft lawsuit included allegations that the popular pizza chain failed to pay their workers for mandatory training, which would violate the Fair Labor Standards Act, wage requirements of New York, and California labor law.
Request for Settlement Approval Leaves Important Issues Unresolved:
With the case resolved with the pending settlement, there are issues left unresolved. Should Papa John's International be held liable when franchises engage in wage violations? 8.43 million Americans worked at franchise businesses in 2019, and many were minimum wage workers who can't afford to put in unpaid hours on the job. No one questions whether or not mandatory unpaid job training is legal – it's not. The question is who is responsible, but the settlement means this case won't lead to any answers.
Details of the Case: Avalos v. Papa John's International, Inc.
The Plaintiff in the case is Sofia Avalos along with several other Papa John's employees and a proposed class of Papa John's hourly employees. According to the lawsuit, workers were required to complete mandatory online job training. Employees were required to complete the training before they clocked in for a shift or after they clocked out, so they were not paid for the mandatory training.
Who Was Responsible for the Wage Violation?
Online training modules were accessed on the corporate website, and workers allege it was a common practice to require the mandatory training be completed off the clock across various Papa John's facilities throughout the nation. Due to the way the training was tracked, Papa John's knew (or had very good reason to know) that the training modules were completed off the clock. In addition to not being paid for all their hours worked, the standard practice also resulted in undercounted total hours, inaccurate calculations of minimum wage and overtime, and inaccurate wage statements.
If you need to talk to someone about violations in the workplace or need to file an overtime lawsuit, get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in any one of various law firm offices located in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.
