New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has sued the owner of Manhattan Papa John’s locations for underpaying workers and other labor violations. Photo credit: Getty Images
In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said a Manhattan Papa John’s franchise owner was violating the state’s labor law by “significantly underpaying delivery workers.”
The lawsuit alleges Ronald Johnson and his company, New Majority Holdings LLC, also failed to pay delivery workers for all of the hours they worked, and required the employees to pay for their own bicycles and safety equipment.
The $2 million lawsuit is expected to affect more than 400 Papa John’s delivery workers, according to the attorney general’s office.
A year-long investigation found Johnson’s company paid workers as little as $5 an hour, denied overtime and paid employees less than the total amount owed to them.
“Nobody who works 40 hours a week should have to live in poverty,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “Like every other business in New York, fast-food employers must follow the law. My office will combat wage theft whenever and wherever we see it in order to protect the rights of hardworking New Yorkers, including pizza delivery workers and others who toil at fast-food restaurants.”
New Majority’s Papa John’s pizza restaurants are located at 703 Lenox Ave, 301 Cathedral Parkway, 2119 1st Avenue and 3477 Broadway.
