Confidential Settlement Reached in WKRP Pizza Delivery Driver Lawsuit
The case concluded with a confidential settlement and recovery for the class members, which was approved by the Court on September 17, 2012.
Details about the Lawsuit
Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and Weinhaus & Potashnick filed a lawsuit seeking unpaid wages and unreimbursed expenses on behalf of pizza delivery drivers against WKRP Management, LLC, which operates Pizza Hut stores primarily in Colorado and Kansas. The case is Darrow et al. v. WKRP Management, LLC and was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
The lawsuit alleged that WKRP Management, LLC violated federal (and state) wage and hour laws by failing to reimburse their pizza delivery drivers for their automobile expenses, resulting in the pizza delivery drivers being paid less than minimum wage. Specifically, the lawsuit alleged that the amount paid by the pizza company to pizza delivery drivers for automobile expenses were insufficient to reimburse them for the automobile costs incurred in delivering pizzas, including purchasing gasoline, vehicle parts and fluids, automobile and repair services, and automobile insurance, and suffering automobile depreciation.
On February 28, 2012, the Court conditionally certified the claims in this case against WKRP Management, LLC as a Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") collective action, and authorized that a Notice of Collective Action Lawsuit be provided to all current and former members of the class. The class included delivery drivers who worked within the last three years for WKRP Management LLC - which owns more than 40 Pizza Hut franchises in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri and New Mexico.
