On March 12, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed two separate district court decisions addressing how pizza delivery drivers should be reimbursed for their vehicle-related expenses under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The underlying cases involved minimum wage claims under the FLSA. In both cases, the drivers alleged that their employers had not sufficiently reimbursed them for the expenses they incurred while using their personal vehicles to make deliveries, resulting in the employees earning less than the minimum wage. One employer had reimbursed drivers 28 cents per mile, whereas the other employer had paid a flat-fee of $1.00-$1.50 per delivery.
