From PLANSPONSOR, Rebecca Moore reports that an executive recruiter has alleged that he was misclassified as an independent contractor and entitled to retirement benefits. Rebecca writes:
A man has sued Yum! Brands Inc., Taco Bell Corp. and various individual defendants, seeking recognition of his years of employment from 1995 through 2020 for purposes of calculating his retirement benefits with three retirement plans, including a nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan, sponsored by the company.
According to the complaint, common law employees were eligible for the plans per their governing documents. The complaint alleges that the plaintiff met the test for employee status per prior case law, but Yum misclassified him as an independent contractor.
The lawsuit explains that the man started employment as a recruiter for Taco Bell when it was owned by PepsiCo. It details how he stayed with the company when it was spun away and eventually acquired by Yum. During his 25 years with the company, the plaintiff held the title of executive recruiter.
Although he was classified as an independent contractor, the plaintiff participated in Yum corporate events and team meetings, the company dictated his hours, he was given an office in Taco Bell’s corporate headquarters and he used a company email address and the company’s computer systems to perform his work. The plaintiff was also prohibited from taking outside work to perform similar services for other fast-food businesses.
Read the full story at Worker Misclassification Alleged in ERISA Lawsuit | PLANSPONSOR
