Pizza Hut Delivery Driver Sues For Unpaid Service Charges And Overtime

Pizza Hut is being sued by a former delivery driver for keeping all of the mandatory service charges it charged its customers and for unpaid overtime pay. According to the lawsuit, filed on August 11 in Manhattan federal court, Pizza Hut charged its customers a mandatory $2.75 “delivery fee” for deliveries and misled its customers to believe the fee was a tip for its delivery drivers. As a result, delivery workers were often not paid tips directly from customers. However, Pizza Hut did not pay its delivery drivers any part of the delivery fees, allegedly violating New York labor laws. Under New York Labor Law, mandatory service charges that are purported to be gratuities belong to the employees. The lawsuit also alleges that Pizza Hut violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay its delivery drivers the correct overtime pay for hours worked over forty because it did not include the delivery drivers’ share of the delivery fee into their regular wages. Attorneys for the delivery drivers are seeking unpaid gratuities, unpaid overtime pay, liquidated damages, and attorneys’ fees.