Domino’s Drivers Get Nod for Nearly $2 Million Franchisee Deal

Domino’s Pizza franchisees and drivers who say they weren’t appropriately reimbursed for using personal vehicles to make deliveries won approval for their almost $2 million settlement from a federal judge in Michigan.

The deal, which provides relief for more than 750 delivery drivers who chose to join the collective, resolves allegations that the franchisees’ improperly low reimbursement rates made pay fall below the minimum wage in violation of state law and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan said.

The settlement fund represents about 102% of the drivers’ estimated unpaid wages using a three-year statute of limitations and a $0.54 per mile reimbursement rate, Judge Nancy G. Edmunds said Oct. 14. Each worker will get at least $500, along with a proportional share based on the estimated number of miles they drove while delivering pizzas.

The franchisees, which include more than 50 separate entities, dispute the drivers’ allegations. They also say that any violations weren’t willful, which could knock a year off the statute of limitations if the case went to trial, Edmunds said.

Blanchard & Walker PLLC and Forester Haynie PLLC, counsel for the drivers, secured the court’s approval for a third of the settlement fund—$650,000—in attorneys’ fees. The firms also won reimbursement of their litigation expenses, which they said currently come to about $52,500 and aren’t expected to surpass $65,000.

Dinsmore & Shohl LLP and Southfield, Mich.-based David A. Binkley represent the franchisees.

The case is Mata v. STA Mgmt. LLC, 2022 BL 369693, E.D. Mich., No. 2:19-cv-11662, settlement approved 10/14/22.