Does Pizza Hut Pay Weekly?

The Pizza Hut class action lawsuit filed on behalf of the company’s delivery drivers highlights the underlying compensation issue that delivery drivers must face. Pizza Hut assumes delivery drivers earn a certain amount of wages in tips every hour. The company then pays delivery drivers a lower wage than the minimum wage under the assumption Pizza Hut delivery drivers make up the difference in tips.

As the class action lawsuit demonstrated, assuming Pizza Hut delivery drivers earn a certain amount of money in tips per hour can be a faulty assumption. Delivery drivers do not get tipped the same frequency and percentage as servers. For example, the standard tip for a server is considered to be 15 percent. For delivery drivers, the standard tip percentage is around 10 percent. On a large bill, the five percent difference is a substantial amount of money.

In addition to underpaying the minimum wage, Pizza Hut has other ways to chip away at the compensation earned by the company’s team of delivery drivers.

Vehicle Repairs and Maintenance

If you use your vehicle to deliver pizzas, Pizza Hut must pay you for certain expenses. Not only did the delivery drivers sue Pizza Hut for underpaying their wages, but they also claimed the company did not reimburse them for the costs associated with repairs and maintenance.

According to a Coworker.org study, 77 percent of pizza delivery drivers state vehicle maintenance represents one of the main financial problems that arise while delivering pizzas.

Gas

Federal law requires Pizza Hut to compensate you for mileage if you use your car to deliver pizzas. Most employers follow the guidelines established by the IRS of compensating drivers 58 cents per mile. However, some employers undercut the IRS guidelines by compensating drivers less than the 58 cents a mile requirement.

Work Multiple Positions

The restaurant industry is known for cross-training employees to cover open shifts, as well as give managers more flexibility when it comes to staffing. For example, a worker at Pizza Hut might deliver pizzas as the primary job, but also works occasionally as a cook or counter employee. Both positions pay more per hour than what a delivery driver earns. An unethical employer might pay a worker the hourly rate earned by a delivery driver while the employee works other positions that pay more an hour.

Work Off the Clock

“I know you just clocked out, but can you deliver these pizzas on your way home?”

Pizza delivery drivers are highly vulnerable to a scam called “working off the clock.” Whether an employer promises to pay cash under the table or simply asks an employee to work off the clock, the practice violates the protections granted by the FLSA. If you complete job tasks as a delivery driver, you are officially on the clock to get paid for your efforts.

Pizza delivery drivers are not the only restaurant workers that employers rip off financially. A restaurant such as Pizza Hut has other ways to cheat workers out of money.

Skimming Tips

Once upon a time in America, tipped employees received a vast majority of their tips in cash. Now, credit card tips dominate the way tipped employees receive compensation. Another difference between 2021 and 30 years ago is many restaurants pay out tips on paychecks, which for Pizza Hut means tipped workers get their tips every two weeks. An unethical owner or manager might skim tips from worker paychecks. Restaurant owners and managers also can skim tips off a tip-sharing arrangement. Instead of the server taking home all the tips earned for a shift, the server must tip out a small percentage of the tips earned to other workers such as a pizza cook and a counter service employee. The money goes into an envelope that an owner or a manager can access to skim cash.

Not Paying the Minimum Wage

The Pizza Hut class action lawsuit represents one of the ways a company can undermine the minimum wage. The second way a company can undermine the minimum wage is by shorting workers on their paychecks. Not paying the minimum wage is a brazen attempt to steal wages and any company that tries to do it banks on its employees not knowing what the minimum wage is at the state and federal levels.

If Pizza Hut has blatantly violated the state or federal minimum wage law, contact one of the employment lawyers at Morgan & Morgan to recover the compensation you deservedly earned.

Unlawful Deductions

In the Pizza Hut class action lawsuit, delivery drivers filed a lawsuit seeking back pay for minimum wage violations and the failure of Pizza Hut to cover legally mandated expenses. Wage theft also occurs when a company makes unlawful paycheck deductions. For example, the Pizza Hut restaurant where you work cannot force you to pay for the cost of replacing a rack of glasses that you accidentally broke. The company also cannot charge you for the cost of replacing spoiled food if you work as a cook or a cash shortage if your primary job is working as a cashier.

Overtime Violations

As with any worker in the United States, restaurant workers must receive overtime pay for working more than 40 hours a week. Some states require employers to pay overtime to workers that put in more than eight hours of work during a single day. If you work more than 40 hours per week, federal law states you deserve to earn time and a half in compensation. This means a worker who earns $10 an hour in regular pay should receive $15 an hour in overtime compensation.

Restaurants are notorious for workplace accidents that cause injuries to employees. From slip and fall incidents in the dining room to a serious cut injury in the kitchen, restaurants file a considerable number of workers’ compensation claims every year.

Employers are required by law to fund workers’ comp insurance to cover the cost of worker injuries. However, some employers either refuse to pay out workers’ comp or pay below what an employee deserves in compensation. If you suffered an injury at Pizza Hut, you should submit a workers’ compensation claim to receive just compensation to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate your injuries.

Depending on your state’s regulations, you file a workers’ comp claim with your employer or the state workers’ compensation commission. Regardless of where you live, you should follow a series of steps to ensure you file the most persuasive workers’ compensation claim.

First, notify your employer about the workplace accident. This establishes a point of reference for when the accident took place. Most states give workers three or four days to notify their employers about a workplace accident. Second, even if you did not suffer a serious injury, you should seek medical attention. Some workplace injuries, such as a concussion and carpal tunnel syndrome, take time for the symptoms to develop. Visiting with your physician allows you to gather and organize the medical records you need to file a workers’ compensation claim.

The third step in filing a workers’ comp claim involves collecting physical evidence. Like most restaurants, Pizza Hut deploys a security camera system to protect its employees against criminal acts. Security camera footage also is an effective piece of evidence to bolster s workers’ compensation claim. Physical evidence can come in the form of the photographs taken at the scene of the workplace accident.

With the help of a workers’ compensation attorney, the fourth step involves filing your claim. A lawyer can help you submit compelling evidence, as well as ensure you meet the filing deadline established by the state where you live.

Whether Pizza Hut underpaid you or you suffered an injury while at work, Morgan & Morgan can help you recover the money you deserve. Our versatile law firm has offices located throughout the United States to help clients with wage theft, personal injury, and workers’ compensation claims. The best part is you do not have to pay any upfront money for one of our attorneys to review your case.

Schedule a free case evaluation today with a lawyer from Morgan & Morgan.