Where plaintiffs have alleged that the defendants deliberately misclassified them as independent contractors in violation of Massachusetts law, the defendants’ motion for summary judgment should be denied because the facts upon which they rely do not establish as a matter of law that the plaintiffs did not perform any services for them.
“Plaintiffs Margarito Canales and Benjamin Bardzik brought this action against Defendants Lepage Bakeries Park Street, LLC (‘Lepage’), CK Sales Co., LLC (‘CK Sales’), and Flowers Foods, Inc. (‘Flowers’), alleging that Defendants deliberately misclassified Plaintiffs as independent contractors in violation of Massachusetts law and, as a result, committed other violations of Massachusetts wage statutes. …
“Plaintiffs’ four remaining claims depend on a finding that Plaintiffs were Defendants’ employees. For the reasons discussed below, this is a determination that will need to be made by a jury, because Defendants have not established as a matter of law that Plaintiffs were not their employees. Should the jury find that Plaintiffs were Defendants’ employees, their claims are colorable, but if the jury finds that they were not employees, all of the claims will necessarily fail.
“In sum, Plaintiffs say that they were, in fact, Defendants’ employees, and that Defendants misclassified them as independent contractors, withheld their wages, and failed to pay them a minimum wage or overtime compensation in violation of Massachusetts law. … Defendants...
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