Seyfarth’s Boston Employment Litigators Obtain Joint Employment Win for Credico (USA)

BOSTON (March 31, 2020) – Seyfarth successfully secured a summary judgment in favor of Credico (USA) LLC on a key joint employment matter.

For years, Plaintiffs’ lawyers in Massachusetts have sought to expand the definition of employer under the Massachusetts wage laws by arguing that the employment relationship is defined by the ABC test, which is traditionally reserved for determining employee vs. independent contractor status. One of the clearest rebukes of this theory under Massachusetts law came from the Commonwealth’s Business Litigation Session on March 31, 2020, in a summary judgment decision in favor of Credico (USA) LLC, Jinks v. Credico (USA) LLC, et al.

The Jinks plaintiffs worked as door-to-door sales people for an independent sales office, DFW Consultants. They argued that they were jointly employed not only by DFW, but also by Credico, the broker that arranged for DFW to provide sales and marketing services to large, national companies selling phones, utilities contracts, and other goods and services. Plaintiffs argued that Credico was their joint employer, on the theory that their work was within Credico’s usual course of business (prong B of the ABC test). The Court rejected the ABC test as the proper test for joint employment, instead adopting the common law “right of control” test for joint employment in the Commonwealth. Applying that test, the Jinks court found that Credico did not jointly employ plaintiffs and could not be liable for any alleged unpaid wages under the Massachusetts wage and hour laws, thereby dismissing Plaintiffs’ claims against Credico in their entirety.

The Seyfarth Labor & Employment litigation team included partner Barry Miller, senior counsel Alison Silveira, and associate Molly Mooney from the firm’s Boston office.