Papa John's Franchise Ordered to Pay $800,000 in Wage Theft Case
Insulators International Staff — Wed, Jul 15, 2015 @ 15:07 PM
Emstar Pizza, which owns seven Papa John's stores, was sued by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman for allegedly underreporting hours worked by employees and rounding workers' hours down to the nearest hour, as well as not paying overtime to workers who earned it. Schneiderman said that he is considering pursuing action against Papa John's as well.
In December, the National Labor Relations Board's general council issued a complaint against certain McDonald's franchisees and McDonald's USA as joint employers and therefore both should be liable for labor and wage violations at franchise locations. Schneiderman could make a similar argument about Papa John's, particularly considering how tightly controlled franchises are under the company's uniform standards. If Schneiderman pursues a complaint against the overall company, it would make it easier for former employees to collect wages they claim were stolen from them.
About the case, Schneiderman said: