Matthew Purushotham
Wed, 10/12/2022
On October 5, 2022 the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California agreed that a lawsuit filed by an elder care worker could proceed as a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The defendant employer operates a cell phone application that allows seniors and their families to obtain the services of assistants calls “Pals,” who provide help with shopping, other household tasks, or companionship.
The lawsuit alleges that the company denies the “Pals” minimum wage and overtime compensation by treating them as independent contractors. The Court rejected the employer’s argument that its treatment of the Pals as contractors is appropriate because they schedule as much or as little work as they like through the app and because they receive direction primarily from the seniors and their families.
The court found that it was sufficient that the plaintiff alleged that she and other “Pals” were victims of a “single decision, policy, or plan” that misclassified them as independent contractors. The court also rejected the employer’s argument that the plaintiff had not established that the company had failed to pay her overtime or minimum wages, concluding that the argument went to the merits of the plaintiff’s claim and was not an appropriate question at the conditional certification stage early in the litigation.
For more information on how employers improperly classify workers as exempt from the FLSA in order to avoid paying overtime, visit https://www.mselaborlaw.com/practice-areas/misclassified-ot-ineligible. If you believe you have been misclassified and are entitled to overtime pay, contact us at info@mselaborlaw.com.
