From JDSupra, Richard Reibstein discusses a lawsuit filed by a salesperson of a gutter protection company who alleges he was misclassified as an independent contractor. Richard writes:
GUTTER PROTECTION COMPANY SUED BY SALESPERSONS IN COLORADO FOR IC MISCLASSIFICATION. One of the largest nationwide gutter protection companies, LeafFilter, has been sued in a proposed collective action lawsuit brought in a Colorado federal court by a salesperson on behalf of himself and others similarly situated. The plaintiff claims that the company violated the overtime compensation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) because of its alleged misclassification of the salespersons as ICs instead of employees. The salespeople sell gutter systems for residential housing, meet with prospective customers at their homes, inspect their existing gutter systems, and seek to convince homeowners to purchase the company’s products and services. In 2024, the plaintiff had filed an administrative claim for workers’ compensation benefits after suffering an on-the-job injury at a LeafFilter customer location. Although LeafFilter asserted in that case that the plaintiff was an IC and not an employee, the workers’ compensation judge disagreed and concluded that, “As a practical matter, aside from the fact that [the plaintiff] was responsible for his own taxes and travel expenses, [he] was functionally indistinguishable from an employee.”
In the collective action complaint filed last month in federal court, the plaintiff reiterates his claim that the salespersons have been misclassified as ICs and not employees. He alleges they are required to wear shirts and carry IDs with the company’s name and logo; are economically dependent on the company; cannot “meaningfully negotiate the charge or pay for the work they provided” or accept or decline jobs; cannot make decisions to hire others, purchase materials and equipment or rent space; do not have the opportunity for profit or loss based on managerial skills; perform an integral part of the company’s business; and are not permitted to choose the order and/or time in which the jobs were performed. The complaint also alleges that the company sets the salespersons’ schedules, supervises their performance, exercises the right to discipline the salespersons, and requires them to work over 40 hours in a workweek without paying overtime compensation. Reussow v. Leaffilter North LLC, No. 1:25-cv-01910 (D. Colo. June 18, 2025).
