In its recent landmark decision, Jinks v. Credico (USA) LLC, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court set the standard for joint employer status in the context of the Commonwealth's notoriously stringent wage laws. By adopting the joint employer standard from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the court provided a relatively clear and limiting standard for determining whether a defendant can be liable for wage violations asserted by individuals that the defendant did not hire, supervise, or pay. In aligning Massachusetts with the federal standard, the SJC also rejected an expansive interpretation that would have enabled a flood of joint employer litigation against a wide range of potential defendants.
The primary defendant in the case, Credico, is a broker of face-to-face marketing services that connects national companies like utility providers, cell phone providers, and a host of other large, national companies to local, independent sales companies that sell the products offered by Credico's national clients, often through door-to-door sales campaigns or in kiosks in big-box retail stores. The plaintiffs were each hired by an independent sales office known as DFW, Inc., which recruited, hired, trained, supervised, and paid them. The plaintiffs asserted that they were improperly classified as outside sales personnel, and as such, had been denied minimum wage and overtime pay due under Massachusetts law. Instead of filing their claims against their direct...
The DMK president blamed the AIADMK leader for trying to scuttle Ungaludan Stalin initiative when it was introduced, by filing a petition in the court against it DMK president and Chief Minister M....