Papa John's Discrimination, OSHA violations, Unpaid Overtime, Criminal Neglegence, Ripoff Nationwide

 I currently work for this same chain of stores in NW Florida. I have worked there for over 4 years. I started as a driver. I had a no fault accident over 2 years ago. I damaged my car and broke my foot. there was no damage to anyone else. I was working at the time. Had issues withmy car that concerned me safety wise. I called my manager before my shift and explained that I did not feel my car was safe to drive until I had it fixed. Manager told me he needed me anyway and that I had to come to work. accident occured on my first time using my car after clocking in. I had to have surgery on my foot. was on workmans comp and out of work for about 4-6 months. Upon my return I discovered that manager had been replaced. I delivered one day and was taken back off the road the next day. was told by HR that they re ran my MVR and determined I could not drive because of the accident. Apparently they didnt notice that I no longer met driving criteria because of the accident. I came back to work early against medical advice. They didnt inform me thatI could not drive until AFTER I did this. My new manager was good enough to let me work as an insider. This was certainly better than nothing but the loss of hours and tips cost me approx. 200-300 pet week. As a result, I lost my home and lived 2 months in that same car I used to depend on ti earn a living.

I worked hard for over 2 years barely scraping by. I was guranteed on many occasions that I would be able to return to my driver pisition. It was always just a couple if months away. Every 3 or 4 months I would think I could drive again only to be disapointed by some new mysterious rule that alwYs seemed to apply only to me. Because of finances I eventually lost my insurance and couldnt afford to legally drive for over a year. Last December I was assured by HR that I could drive again as my record had cleared. I saved and borrowed and after spending more than $500 I got my tag, luscense and insurance back and reported to work ready to drive. Once again HR came up with a mysterious reason I could not drive. This time that I had gotten a ticket the October before! Mind you I did nit even drive for iver a year. I walked to work or bummef rides. No Ticket! They then told me that what actually was going on is that they were holding tickets against me from long ago. Some over 4 years ild. On top of that, I worked 360 days last year. Took off christmas. thanksgiving and 3 other random days. I have been incredibly loyal and hard working. I still make minimum wage. I was told there was a pay freeze even though many others have recieved raises.

As of a couple months ago papa johns changed their policy for drivers that effectively takes me off tge road for the next 2 years. Stricter driver regulations. When these changez took several other drivers off the road, HR made a one time exception for them all! When I asked if I could take advantage of this same exception, I was told that I could not because I was too OLD! I am 42. HR rep informed me that the exception was only for drivers who have been driving for less than 5 years. No explanation as to how that is not clear discrimination. Just a few quick facts: There are no black or hispanic managers in this group of Papa Johns stores. The rep in HR who has always controlled my driving privledges is coincidentally the wife of the owner. I dont believe it is unreasonable to suspect age discrimination or that they perhaps consider me a liability and just want to drive me out

cdls are required in wv for pizza delivery and dot regulations apply but not every where some states dont have this u have to have a physical and cdl and it should be that way every where and papa johns needs to pay better

Wow, I thought some of the other posts were harsh.

First of all, Steve (not a lawyer) there is a reason you are not a lawyer. Who ever told you that you have to work 50 before getting overtime is wrong. You should check into your own employment.

"An employer who requires or permits an employee to work overtime is generally required to pay the employee premium pay for such overtime work. Employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a workweek of at least one and one-half times their regular rates of pay. The FLSA does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of rest."

If they changed their laws, they should update their website because that was copied and pasted today. Sad when people like you know more about the government than the government itself. And since this was an issue of backpay, current laws would not affect his case anyway. If the law said 40 while he was employed there, 40 is the standard they are held to.

If you would check around Benj, you would find that there are a number of employment lawsuits against Papa John's franchise corporations, as well as the company itself. They have a problem decoding the employment laws too. I filed suit myself after learning that they were going back after I left during the day and taking time away from me (I found it through the exceptions report) just to save on labor costs. That company reimbursed me and gave me a formal written apology from the manager responsible.

Please do not listen to these people. Most employment lawyers offer free consultations but there are time restrictions hanging over your head so get in there and see one as soon as possible. Good luck.

and when was the last "hurricane" that went through there. You make it seem like an everyday occurance. If you feel it is unsafe to drive-then don't. YOU make the decision to drive. What is the alleged unsafe equipment-maybe your own vehicle?

I'm sure they use all the same equipment any other pizza establishment uses and the only way it is "unsafe" is by careless workers.
If it indeed was so "unsafe" you can bet OSHA would have over-the-top safeguards in place to begin with to protect those with no common sense when using a piece of equipment.

Perhaps you fit this description and should find employment elsewhere. So far, it is only for shock value. You have not stated one fact yet-just vague accusations.

Listed Below.

Being forced to drive during hurricanes.*
Unsafe equipment (nearly all locations)
Requiring employees to commit wreckless driving to meet time quotas.*

* Some of these could also be considered criminal criminal negligence.

Yes, I mis-typed certain. Guess that's why i'm in school to be an /* EDITED(Don't want them to identify me)*/, not typing instructor.
( If only my collegiate employers would stop ripping me off, I might be able to afford my last year of school.)

Hope this answers your questions!

Still waiting to see what these alleged OSHA violations are besides shock value in a title.

The OP was trying to say a "certain medical condition" but either could not type or could not spell. That was the only problem.

AND, the DOT has absolutely NO JURISDICTION over pizza delivery drivers. NONE. They ARE NOT commercial drivers for purposes of the FMCSA because they are not driving commercial vehicles. They are driving personal vehicles for business purposes, illegally. That is an offense on the part of the driver, NOT the company.

I believe the OP was reffering to a creatine disorder, either dermatomyostitis or polymyostitis which are neural/muscular conditions. If this is the case the OP has protection under ADA. As for the rest of the issues, I would say that he'd be wise to contact the DOT about the driving situation. I'm sorry you had so many issues with Papa Johns at multiple locations. I wish you the best of luck in resolving your various complaints. I hope you will think twice before searching out another similiar franchise.
Good luck.

Benj,

First of all, nobody told you it was a $15/hour job. You have to read the fine print. Minimum wage and tips. "Up To" $15/hour.

Second, doing pizza delivery is not financially feasable. The overall cost of operating your vehicle is more than you make. This is a fact. think about it, if it was financially feasable, they would buy the vehicles and pay the expenses along with your hourly wage to drive THEIR vehicle.

As far as the damage to the customer's lawn goes, the company is in no way responsible. The owner of the car is.

As far as the overtime goes, the FEDERAL law on overtime has been changed. They are NOT required to pay you overtime. Thay can pay you straight time up to 50 hours now.

Furthermore, you are not covered under the FMCSA as a commercial vehicle. However, you are engaging in fraud against your insurance company for using your private vehicle for a commercial purpose. You have violated your contract with them, and your coverage is essentially void if you have an accident while using the vehicle for commercial purposes.

Don't believe me, call your insurance agent or read your contract.

As far as the threats of termination go for union organization, that is illegal. File immediate complaints with the NLRB. You can get paid big money for each violation. I have done this. Have every driver carry a [hidden]digital voice activated recorder and a small notepad. Document violations as they happen. If you get fired, it just makes your case and your compensation better. Have some balls.

And, as it is, WHY would you care about losing that job? It has no value anyway. This demonstrates the mentality we are dealing with in this industry.

As far as the wage issues go, file a wage claim with the dept of labor. get it on paper.

OSHA violations? Call OSHA!

This is all very basic stuff here.