Earlier this week the Western District of Washington provided a succinct illustration of the difference between independent contractors and employees. In Daskam v. Allstate (Case No. C11-0131RSL), the court shot down an FLSA claim by an Allstate sales agent who alleged that he had been misclassified as a contractor, and in reality, should have been treated as an employee entitled to overtime wage benefits. The sales agent built his case around the fact that he had a long-term relationship with Allstate and that the company controlled many aspects of his business: setting his hours, establishing prices, telling him what products to sell, and providing him with forms to use with customers. The sales agent also claimed that he performed the same duties as Allstate employees and that his tasks of selling insurance products and providing customer service were essential to Allstate’s business.
While the court reasoned that Allstate could go too far at some point in controlling the “when, where, why and how” of selling insurance such that the sales agent would become a common-law employee, it did not believe that point had been reached. The court noted that the sales agent’s ability to earn profits depended on his business decisions, that he had the discretion to hire employees to assist him and that he could create a significant book of business for himself. These factors were decisive in the court’s mind, since the sales agent had the freedom and autonomy to turn his one-man shop into a multi-agent office business – something that he could never do as an employee.Federal Court In Washington Rules That Sales Agent Is A Contractor, Not An Employee
Hannesson Murphy
PartnerRELATED ARTICLES
In a Blow to the Transportation Industry, Ninth Circuit Overturns AB 5 Injunction
April 30, 2021 | Currents - Employment Law
Use Your Noodle: Assistant Manager Sues Over COVID-19 Related Termination
September 11, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law
California Adopts New Exemptions from AB 5 Independent Contractor Classification
September 9, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law
COVID-19 False Alarm Triggers Tipped Worker Collective Action
July 23, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law
DOL Delivers a Five-Pack of Wage and Hour Opinion Letters
June 30, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law
In a Blow to the Transportation Industry, Ninth Circuit Overturns AB 5 Injunction
April 30, 2021 | Currents - Employment Law
Use Your Noodle: Assistant Manager Sues Over COVID-19 Related Termination
September 11, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law
California Adopts New Exemptions from AB 5 Independent Contractor Classification
September 9, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law
COVID-19 False Alarm Triggers Tipped Worker Collective Action
July 23, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law
DOL Delivers a Five-Pack of Wage and Hour Opinion Letters
June 30, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law
Here’s a Tip – Restaurant Workers Allege Wage and Hour Violations Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
June 26, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law
As Businesses Reopen, DOL Allows Premium Payments Under the Fluctuating Workweek Method
May 22, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act, Department of Labor
Court Scorches Employer, Upholds Class Arbitration Decision
April 24, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act
Shutting the Gate: Temporary Worker Excluded From FLSA Collective Action
April 23, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act
Salaried-Basis Employees in the World of Temporary COVID-19 Furloughs
April 3, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act, Department of Labor
Employer’s Perseverance Pays Off As District Court Decertifies Disinterested Collective
March 6, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act
No FLSA Friend Requests: Employees With Arbitration Agreements Can’t Get Notice
January 29, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act
New Jersey Bedevils Employers With Five New Pro-Employee Laws
January 24, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law
Motor Carriers Continue to Roll Over AB 5
January 17, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law
New Joint Employment Rule: DOL Clarifies Standard For Liability Under the FLSA
January 17, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act
Third Circuit Schools District Court on Workplace Class Certification
January 8, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act
Federal Court Pumps Brakes on California AB 5 as Applied to Motor Carriers
January 2, 2020 | Currents - Employment Law
New DOL Rule Allows Employers to Offer Perks Without Affecting Regular Pay Rate
December 20, 2019 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act
No E For Effort: FLSA Conditional Certification Fails Without Supporting Evidence
October 23, 2019 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act
Café Managers’ Second Attempt At Conditional Certification Fails
October 22, 2019 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act
No Right, Just Rules: Court Lacks Jurisdiction Over Steakhouse Managers’ Claims
October 3, 2019 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act
The FLSA Protects Colorado’s Recreational Cannabis Workers
September 25, 2019 | Currents - Employment Law, Fair Labor Standards Act
Another Court Declines to Defer to DOL Guidance on 20 Percent Rule
August 22, 2019 | Currents - Employment Law, Employment Lessons
Don’t Fall Asleep on DOL’s New Guidance for Time Truck Drivers Spend in Sleeper Berth
August 1, 2019 | Currents - Employment Law, Employment Lessons
Recent DOL Guidance Not Entitled to Deference Post-Kisor
July 10, 2019 | Currents - Employment Law, Employment Lessons
F is for Fluctuate: Overtime Pay And The Fluctuating Workweek (WTH is FWW?)
July 27, 2018 | Letter of the Law, Currents - Employment Law
Will There Be An Epic Backlash?
June 27, 2018 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Supreme Court Watch, Currents - Employment Law
Philadelphia U. S. District Court Determines Uber Drivers Are Independent Contractors
April 23, 2018 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
DOL Issues New Opinion Letters on Wage and Hour Issues – Compensability of Health-Related Rest Breaks
April 18, 2018 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Know Before You Go: Does the DOL’s New PAID Program Pay Off For Employers?
April 16, 2018 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
California Court Determines Gig-Economy Drivers Are Independent Contractors
February 13, 2018 | Employment Lessons, Currents - Employment Law
What’s Old Is New Again: DOL Resurrects Advisory Opinion Letters
January 16, 2018 | Employment Lessons, Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
The DOL Just Flipped Its Position on Paying Interns
January 10, 2018 | Employment Lessons, Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
As Predicted, DOL Proposes Changes to Tip Pool Rule
December 29, 2017 | Employment Discrimination, Employment Lessons, Currents - Employment Law
Second Circuit Holds that Hearst Interns are not Employees
December 12, 2017 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
House Passes Bill to Legalize Comp Time in the Private Sector
May 8, 2017 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Lesson: Don’t Underestimate Court’s Ability to Change Its Mind
April 6, 2017 | Employment Lessons, Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
The DOL’s Final Rule on Life Support?
December 30, 2016 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
December 1 Overtime Rule Blocked
November 22, 2016 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Using an Employee’s Social Media Posts to Prove Laziness? Think Again
November 21, 2016 | Employment Lessons, Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
The World According to Trump: Revenge of the Pen – Overturning Obama’s Executive Orders and Employment Policies
November 16, 2016 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
The World According to Trump: A Prologue
November 14, 2016 | High Stakes Employment Issues, Currents - Employment Law
Dancer Employees Allegedly Stripped of Wages Through Misclassification
November 1, 2016 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Oklahoma and U.S. DOL Agree to Tag-Team Worker Misclassification Initiatives
September 16, 2016 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Employee Misclassification as Independent Contractor
September 12, 2016 | Traditional Labor, Currents - Employment Law
Meowing Dogs and Barking Cats: Supreme Court Grants Certiorari to Determine Service Advisors’ Eligibility for Overtime Pay
January 22, 2016 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Friend or Foe?: Terminated HR Director Can Bring Retaliation Case, Court Says
January 4, 2016 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Wage Wars: The Plaintiff’s Bar Awakens
December 4, 2015 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Employees May Soon Have Something To Lose In FLSA Lawsuits
August 13, 2015 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Employers Won’t “Like” Ruling Allowing Class Action Notifications via Social Media
May 6, 2015 | Social Media and Technology, Currents - Employment Law
Lyft is Facing the Ride of Its Life
March 13, 2015 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Not So Fast: Parties Cannot Impose Confidentiality Restrictions on Judicially Approved FLSA Settlements
January 29, 2015 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
X-Rays Shipped Out of State Help Employee Keep Issue of FLSA Coverage Alive
January 26, 2015 | Letter of the Law, Currents - Employment Law
Uber Argues That Its Drivers Are Not Employees
December 18, 2014 | Employment Discrimination, Currents - Employment Law
Unanimous Supreme Court Denies Compensation for Time Spent in Security Checks
December 11, 2014 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Don’t Disregard Your Employees’ Rights, Even If They’re Strippers
November 19, 2014 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
An Employer’s Liability Under The FLSA Can Be High
July 31, 2014 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Collective and Class Actions: Interns, Assistant Managers – and their Lawyers!
July 18, 2014 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Letter of the Law, Currents - Employment Law
Revisiting Judicial Approval of Fair Labor Standards Act Settlements
June 19, 2014 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Apple Employees Survive Summary Judgment in FLSA Bag Check Class Action
June 4, 2014 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Act One in Unpaid Intern Appeal Has Begun
April 8, 2014 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Supreme Court Rules That Donning And Doffing Time May Not Be Compensable
January 29, 2014 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Commission or Piece-Rate? The Distinction Is Significant for FLSA Purposes
November 22, 2013 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Contractor Misclassification Is Back On The Agenda
November 20, 2013 | Traditional Labor, Currents - Employment Law
Federal Court Denies Class Certification, Preemptively Denies FLSA Collective Action – Class Members’ Experiences Too Varied
October 15, 2013 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Home Health Care Workers Now Protected Under the FLSA
September 18, 2013 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Judicial Approval No More? The Days of Judicially Scrutinized FLSA Settlements May Be Drawing To a Close
March 14, 2013 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Clarify FLSA’s Exemption for Donning and Doffing Time
February 21, 2013 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
The FLSA Also Requires Employers To Provide Private Lactation Break Rooms
February 1, 2013 | Employee Health Issues, Currents - Employment Law
8th Circuit Upholds Class Waivers in FLSA Cases
January 9, 2013 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
When Numbers Count
December 19, 2012 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
Losing A Fair Labor Standards Act Lawsuit Can Be Costly
November 8, 2012 | Fair Labor Standards Act, Currents - Employment Law
RELATED PRACTICE AREAS
Subscribe
Do you want to receive more valuable insights directly in your inbox? Visit our subscription center and let us know what you're interested in learning more about.
View Subscription Center