This lawsuit was filed on March 27,2020, on behalf of Hungry Howie’s delivery drivers who worked for any of the company’s locations between March 27, 2017 through the present.
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This lawsuit was filed on March 27, 2020, on behalf of Hungry Howie’s delivery drivers who worked for any of the company’s locations between March 27, 2017 through the present.
The lawsuit asserted claims that are all too common in the pizza industry.
First, the plaintiff claimed that the drivers were not adequately reimbursed for the costs associated with using their own vehicles to perform work for Battle Creek. Throughout the relevant time, Battle Creek Pizza reimbursed drivers a flat rate per delivery that resulted in the drivers being paid $1.00 per order delivered.
Biller & Kimble has successfully argued in a number of cases that employers have two choices when reimbursing for vehicle expenses: they can either (1) keep records of the drivers’ actual expenses and reimburse for them, or (2) reimburse at the IRS standard business mileage rate, which changes every year and is currently 62.5 cents per mile.
Learn more about the drivers’ “under-reimbursement” claim here: Pizza Delivery Driver Cases.
Second, the plaintiff claimed that the drivers were paid a “tipped wage rate” (less than minimum wage) for hours they worked inside the restaurant. Because the drivers were not receiving tips for work done in the store, the plaintiff claimed that it was illegal for the company to pay them a tipped wage rate for these hours.
On April 28, 2022, the Judge assigned to this case, the Honorable Janet T. Neff granted our motion and ruled that pizza delivery drivers who use their own cars to make deliveries are entitled to be reimbursed at the IRS standard business mileage rate, which is currently $.625 per mile, if the pizza industry employers do not keep records of their delivery drivers’ actual automobile expenses.
Read the full Opinion here.
Battle Creek appealed Judge Neff’s ruling to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Battle Creek argued that the law allows them to “reasonably approximate” the drivers’ expenses and still meet the minimum wage requirements rather than pay the drivers the IRS rate.
Update 08/21/2023: The appeal briefing is now complete, and Oral Arguments will take place before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on October 18, 2023.