On August 7th, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton approved a preliminary class action settlement with Papa John’s for $5 million for the class. The class consists of over 400,000 former and current Papa John’s employees.

The lawsuit alleged that Papa John’s, one of the U.S.’s most well-known pizza restaurant chains with over 5,900 stores in 50 countries and territories, enforced a long-running “no-poach” agreement between franchisees, which prohibited employees from working at competing franchises. Plaintiffs alleged the Papa John’s no-poach clause restricted employees’ flexibility and limited their wages.

Historically, no-poach cases proved difficult to prosecute. Although the Department of Justice focused heavily on so-called “no-poach” cases since approximately 2016, it took the DOJ four years to secure its first wage-fixing indictment. In obtaining compensation for the class, the Papa-John’s settlement reflects a hard-fought win for employees who allege harm from anticompetitive conduct by their employers.

If 20% of the class files claims, each class member could receive an average of $165 from the settlement. The settlement also requires Papa John’s to conduct Antitrust Compliance Training and to circulate a notice to its franchises that they cannot enforce a “no-poaching” agreement. Papa John’s agreed to include this notice for the next five years.

As one of four co-leads on this case, Lowey is thrilled with the antitrust enforcement result obtained by attorneys Christian Levis and Noelle Forde.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with Lowey’s wins and updates.