Pizza Hut hit by $150 million class action lawsuit over misclassification

Pizza Hut driver wants basic employment rights

A $150 million class action lawsuit has been filed in Ontario against Canada’s second-largest chain restaurant, Pizza Hut Canada, for allegedly misclassifying its drivers. Lead plaintiff Liubomir Marinov is bringing the suit in the hopes of improving working conditions for the thousands of delivery drivers across the country that work for the company.

As independent contractors, drivers for Pizza Hut are not provided the basic rights and protections provided by employment laws in each province, such as overtime pay or minimum wage. Marinov, who has worked for the company since 2005, was at one point making $4.50 per hour, plus tips. In 2020, he was making $8 per hour, which was only recently raised to $10 per hour. Drivers are also responsible for covering costs related to their gas and car, as well as cell phone data to use the company’s delivery app while working, which can eat into their income.

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• Ontario minimum wage
• Minimum wage in Alberta
• B.C. Minimum wage

The lawsuit alleges that delivery drivers must be classified as employees, because unlike other food-delivery services in the gig economy, workers do not choose when they work, which orders they pick up, and are even timed while they carry out their work. In other words, they are not truly independent contractors in Ontario.

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Similarities to Uber class action lawsuit

Similar arguments are being made in a class-action lawsuit against Uber, which alleges that drivers for the rideshare giant are actually employees who have been misclassified as independent contractors.

The $400 million lawsuit was recently certified by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The certification followed a Supreme Court of Canada decision that allowed the class action to be argued in Ontario, instead of the Netherlands, where Uber prefers to arbitrate legal matters. The claim, spearheaded by Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, argues that Uber dictates the conditions and terms of the work their drivers carry out and that drivers must adhere to all of Uber’s terms and their policies if they are going to work for the company.

WATCH: Lior Samfiru discusses the Uber Class Action Lawsuit on Global News.

Independent Contractor or Employee?

If you are unsure if you are an employee or independent contractor, contact Samfiru Tumarkin LLP to find out what your true status may be, and what your rights are. If you are fired, laid off, or let go from your job, but are told by your employer that aren’t owed a severance package because you are an independent contractor, you may still be owed substantial compensation – as much as 24 months’ pay.

The employment lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP have decades of experience representing clients, across various industries, who have been incorrectly identified as contractors.