From Top Class Actions,
A woman has filed a class action lawsuit alleging the misclassification of contractors on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated against Shutterstock Inc. in the Superior Court of the State of California.
Plaintiff Rebecca C. filed the misclassification of contractors lawsuit demanding a trial by jury.
According to the lawsuit, the company failed to pay overtime wages in violation of the California Labor Code, failed to reimburse workers for business expenses, failed to provide and authorize meal and rest periods, failed to provide time and accurate itemized wage statements, failed to pay earned wages. The plaintiff also accuses Shutterstock of unlawful and/or unfair business practices in violation of the California Business and Professions Code.
Shutterstock is an American stock photography company that specializes in stock music, stock footage, and editing tools. The company is headquartered in New York City.
Rebecca says that she was employed and classified as an independent contractor by Shutterstock between October 2015 and August 2017. She says she worked for the company as an Image Reviewer and Vector/Illustration Reviewer and performed her work in several of the company’s locations including Sonoma, Calif. However, the complaint alleges that her misclassification and others as independent contractors during that time resulted in an unlawful denial of employee protections.
On a typical day, she says that she would review almost 2,000 images according to detailed guidelines provided by the company. She argues the detailed guidelines that she and others would receive, including other communications from the company’s supervisors, made them unable to be “free from the control and direction of Shutterstock in connection with their performance of content review work” — a qualification that sets her up to be classified as an employee than an independent contractor, the lawsuit explains.
Other alleged violations include failing to pay overtime and of failing to properly pay her and other similarly situated employees job related expenses, including expenses for computer software and hardware and internet and phone charges.
According to the lawsuit, for employees who worked more than 3.5 hours, no ten-minute rest period was provided, and Shutterstock also failed to pay for a “single meal or rest period premium for missed meal or rest periods” to her or other former and current employees.
Read the full story at Woman Sues Shutterstock for Alleged Misclassification of Contractors
