When you’re searching for the term Papa John’s Employee Settlement, you should be a little specific with that. Why? Well, actually, in recent times, like between 2017 and 2025, there actually have been three different employee cases against Papa John’s, and all three of these cases have reached a settlement with a huge sum of money at the end. So which one are you talking about specifically? Well, do not get confused here. How about we walk you through all three? Let’s just get to it then.
The $2.1 Million Wage Settlement (2025)
First things first, let’s talk about the delivery drivers’ case first and the settlement amount in that case. So, just to brief you here, see, a $2.1 million settlement was agreed upon in 2025 by a group of Papa John’s franchise owners to resolve the lawsuit, which actually started back in 2017, to be precise.
It could very well be that many of you don’t even know about this case yet, so the real problem with this case was that a massive number of drivers from such states as Idaho, Colorado, Kentucky, New York, and North Dakota have claimed that their employers pay them less than they deserve. Serious matter? Of course it is! Because, as per their claim, it clearly violates the minimum wage law.
Well, this case went on for years, and now, there is this $2.1 million settlement, and you’ll be glad to know that as many as 3,000 current and former drivers have been part of this settlement.
The No-Poach Agreement Settlement (2025)
And in the case of Papa John’s, there is one more settlement that was reached in a specific case, and yes, we’re referring to the famous No-Poach Agreement case. Well, this was super new actually, like this lawsuit was only filed in August 2025 when they were alleged to have some hidden clauses in their franchise contracts. And for those who don’t know about these clauses yet, see, they were pretty specific, actually, like limiting the individual stores out there from hiring workers from another Papa John’s unit.
This rule was definitely biased, as you might have already figured out. And if you aren’t able to find anything wrong here, just know that such agreements were declared by the government as harmful to workers since they limited the movement of jobs, and wages were kept at a low level. So sure enough, a big company like Papa John’s decided to settle out this matter because it was damaging their reputation too much. The amount? Oh, it is believed to be around $5 million.
The $175,000 Disability Discrimination Settlement (2023)
Oh and the last one we’d like to talk about is this one, where the incident dates back to 2020, and it’s about a man called Michael Barnes. The backstory? Well, he is visually impaired and uses a service dog for assistance. He got a job at a Papa John’s in Athens, Georgia, but after the offer, the store told him that his service dog was not allowed. As his dog was the only way he could go to the store safely, he decided not to go. And? Well, it sounds super unfair that the store didn’t even try to work it out with him and they fired him before he even had his first shift.
Such a decision went against the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which necessitates businesses to offer reasonable accommodations. The EEOC intervened and filed a suit in court representing him. In the end, Papa John’s paid a $175,000 settlement and consented to a 2-year compliance plan that involved employee training, updated policies, and supervision by the EEOC.