Pizza Delivery Drivers, the Minimum Wage and Split Pay

Many pizza delivery drivers are paid what is called a “split wage” Drivers get a tip credit wage of say, $5.00 per hour, plus whatever tips they get from the customers. However, many drivers spend a considerable amount of time at the restaurant getting their orders ready for delivery or even waiting for the pizza to cook. This time spent inside the restaurant usually amounts to almost 1/2 of the 8 hour shift. In this case, its unfair for the driver to be paid the $5.00 per hour tip credit wage, so the law requires that the driver is paid at least the minimum wage for all of this time spent inside the restaurant. The restaurant is required to keep track of all of the hours the drivers spend inside and outside the restaurant, so that the driver receives at least a minimum wage for all hours worked.

What happens in reality is that the restaurants often will not track this time and pay the driver only the tip credit wage for all or most of the hours, regardless of the fact that the driver may be spending a large percentage on their time inside the restaurant performing non-delivery tasks. This practice is prevalent in the pizza delivery industry throughout the nation, and it runs afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

If you have worked as a tipped pizza delivery driver anywhere in the United States, and have not received the minimum wage for those hours spent inside the restaurant, you should contact Robert S. Norell immediately to discuss your case.