SEATTLE — Seattle-area pizza chain Zeeks Pizza has agreed to pay nearly $410,000 to 224 current and former employees after reaching a settlement with the Seattle Office of Labor Standards for repeat violations of the city’s wage theft ordinance.
OLS alleged that Zeeks failed to disclose what percentage of a service fee charged to its customers went directly to its employees between Jan. 2019 and Jan. 2022.
Washington state law requires that if any portion of a service charge is not clearly designated as being retained by an employer, it must be paid to the employees serving the customer.
Zeeks has now agreed to pay a total of $409,226.80 to 224 current and former employees.
“It’s disheartening to deliver food and not know whether a tip is low because the customer chose that amount or because they thought the delivery fee goes to you,” said a Zeeks employee in an OLS news release. “So, getting these delivery fees back plus damages feels great. This money will make a big difference in our lives.”
Tom Vial and Doug McClure, the founders of Zeeks Pizza, allege that the violations were “temporary, immaterial and were caused by a former software vendor, not by Zeeks employees.”
“Zeeks stands with our drivers. We agree with OLS’s mission and have a history of cooperation with the office,” said Vial and McClure in a statement. “We pay our drivers well and fairly and believe we complied with the statute in good faith. … Importantly, nothing that happened caused our drivers, on average, to receive fewer or smaller tips from our customers.”
Zeeks Pizza previously reached a settlement with OLS for similar allegations in April 2019, agreeing to pay a total financial remedy of $285,150.85 to 257 current and former delivery drivers.