Forester Haynie filed a complaint this week on behalf of delivery drivers in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The complaint alleges that the drivers are owed back pay for lost wages after their employer failed to pay them in accordance with the FLSA. The lawsuit has been brought by former delivery driver, Mark McQuiad, against JC McMurray (d/b/a Domino’s Pizza) and owner Ammar Jali.
By not appropriately compensating delivery drivers for vehicle expenses (gas, mileage, repair and maintenance services, insurance, etc.) according to the IRS’s standard business mileage reimbursement rate the franchise was willfully paying delivery drivers less than the federal and state minimum wage according to the complaint filed.
Under the FLSA, employees are not required to provide the exact amount of their actual expenses, instead the expectation is that employers pay employees a ‘reasonable estimate’ of their expenses. Defendants cannot rely on a tip credit defense to overcome the alleged minimum wage deficiencies.
Another case brought by Forester Haynie, Rechtoris v. Dough Management, is a great example in which the court denied the Defendants’ (also Domino’s Pizza) attempt to rely on tips to cover the hourly wage.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) mandates payments of minimum wage and overtime to most employees. If you are a delivery driver and have reason to believe you may be owed wages because your employer is failing to meet these standards, please contact us.