The Seattle Office of Labor Standards (OLS) recently announced that Carpe Diem Pizza, Inc. dba Domino’s Pizza (CDP) agreed to pay a total financial remedy of $2,177,855.08 to over 1,300 workers for allegedly violating the City of Seattle’s secure scheduling, minimum wage, and wage theft Ordinances.
Based on their investigation, OLS alleged that CDP, a franchise operator of 14 Domino’s Pizza locations in Seattle and more than 30 Domino’s Pizza locations through the Puget Sound area, did not consistently provide employees with schedules at least 14 days in advance, failed to provide employees with a good faith estimate of work schedules, and failed to pay any premium pay for changes to employee schedules with less than 14-day advance notice.
“So many of us were worked to the bone at that franchise and to have them not follow Seattle law on top of it was so discouraging,” said Lynzie Dugar, an employee who worked for Carpe Diem Pizza in 2018. “It felt like we had no real power to do anything about it since they owned so many stores and none of us could afford to lose our jobs if we were retaliated against. The money will go so far to help with car payments, medical bills, maybe even help with down payments for houses. I think it will truly change some of these employees’ lives.”
In addition to scheduling issues, OLS also alleged the employer did not pay the Seattle minimum wage to delivery drivers for time spent making deliveries in Seattle when drivers worked from a location on the Seattle border and did not consistently pay overtime compensation to employees who worked over 40 hours in a work week across multiple locations.
“When I was first contacted about the resolution, I was elated – I felt as if for the first time in a long time there was hope for the workers at the bottom to get justice,” said another former Carpe Diem Pizza employee. “Personally, I can say that this resolution is going to give me 3 months of living expenses. Progress is clearly being made as demonstrated by the work OLS has done and that gives me renewed hope for the future of low wage workers in Seattle.”
CDP released a statement in response to the allegations and settlement, stating that they “believe each worker is essential and should be scheduled and paid fairly, respecting their time and desire to earn predictable wages. We believe we met this goal for our team and remain committed to that goal.”
“While there were no findings of intentionally inaccurate employee timekeeping and pay practices, we are using the investigation as a learning opportunity,” the statement concluded.
OLS Director Steve Marchese says that this case is not unique, and that his office is committed to protecting the rights of workers.
“This is an example of the widespread problems workers in Seattle are facing when trying to do their jobs,” said Marchese. “Seattle labor standards like Secure Scheduling, Minimum Wage and Wage Theft are in place to protect workers. Unscheduled hours, receiving the incorrect minimum wage and unpaid time add up to, in this case, millions of dollars in lost wages. Delivery drivers in particular are among the many front-line workers and should be compensated according to Seattle’s labor laws.”
