On August 18, 2022, a Papa John’s employee filed suit against Apex Pizza Holdings LLC and the Heritage Partners’ Group, large franchise operators of Papa John’s stores. The lawsuit is called Opperman v. Apex Pizza Holdings LLC, et al.
Apex Pizza Holdings, LLC and the Heritage Partners’ Group operates several Papa John’s in Colorado. The plaintiff, a current Papa John’s store manager and former Papa John’s delivery driver, seeks to represent all Apex Pizza Holdings LLC and the Heritage Partners’ Group delivery drivers in federal court for unpaid wages. Plaintiff claims that Apex Pizza Holdings LLC and the Heritage Partners’ Group broke the law by underpaying their delivery drivers for automobile expenses.
Like many similar pizza delivery drivers around the country, the plaintiff argues that he and other drivers should have been reimbursed for his vehicle expenses at the IRS standard business mileage rate, which is currently $.625 per mile. Plaintiff argues the delivery drivers are entitled to this reimbursement rate because Apex Pizza Holdings LLC and the Heritage Partners’ Group did not keep records of or reimburse their delivery drivers based on the drivers’ actual expenses. Because of this underpayment, the plaintiff claims that his and the other delivery drivers’ effective wages fell below minimum wage.
If you are a delivery driver who has worked at this or any other pizza company around the country, contact our firm to find out if you might be owed unreimbursed expenses. We can explain the process you can go through to get those expenses back. Give us a call at (513) 428-8689 or fill out the form below for a free consultation.