Papa Johns Operators Hit with Lawsuit Over Alleged Labor Law Violations

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A proposed collective action alleges six Papa Johns franchise entities, which operate numerous restaurant locations in New York City, have unlawfully failed to pay hourly employees proper minimum and overtime wages.

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The two plaintiffs, Brooklyn residents who worked at several New York City Papa Johns locations, individually claim that in addition to the alleged federal law violations, the companies have run afoul of state and local labor laws by, among other infractions, denying employees spread-of-hours pay, deducting pay for breaks they never took, failing to provide workers with schedules at least 14 days in advance and not obtaining consent before changing schedules.

The case contends that one plaintiff, who began work in January 2017, routinely worked between 60 and 80 hours per week without being paid overtime at a rate of one-and-a-half times his regular wage rate, as required under federal law.

“For the first 40 hours of his workweek, he was compensated via direct deposit,” the case relays. “Any hours worked in excess of 40 were remunerated at a rate of $15 per hour, paid in cash.”

The plaintiff further alleges that there were instances in which he was required to work more hours than the defendants documented and compensated him for, a practice known as “time shaving.” The man also says he did not receive spread-of-hours pay, i.e., an extra hour’s wages, which New York law stipulates employees must be paid if they work more than 10 hours in a day.

Additionally, the plaintiff claims the companies violated the New York Labor Law by failing to reimburse him for work-related expenses, making unlawful deductions from his pay relating to rest and meal breaks and not providing him with requisite weekly uniform maintenance compensation.

The other plaintiff in the case, who was employed at a Brooklyn Papa Johns location in 2020, was also denied proper minimum wage and overtime premiums required under federal law, the complaint alleges. Moreover, the man charges that among other scheduling violations under New York City’s Fair Workweek Law, the defendants failed to provide timely shift schedules and often changed them without adequate notice and without obtaining his consent to the alterations.

The suit names as defendants PJ National New York, LLC; PJ Elmhurst, Inc.; PJ National Holdings, LLC; PJ National Management, LLC; PJ National Brooklyn, LLC and PJ National Bronx, LLC.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone employed by the defendants as an hourly worker at any time during the applicable statutory period who was not paid proper minimum and overtime compensation as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

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