A split U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit panel has found more than 7,000 American Family Life Insurance agents are independent contractors and not employees and are thus not able to pursue a class action arguing they should be eligible for inclusion in the insurer's health and retirement plan.
An Ohio judge had certified the class after holding a 12-day advisory trial, at the conclusion of which the jury issued a verdict declaring the agents were employees and not independent contractors.
But Senior Judges Danny Boggs and John Rogers said the trial court failed to give the appropriate weight to some of the factors the court must use to determine whether a plaintiff is an employee or independent contractor under the relevant precedent for disputes concerning benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Greg Land
Greg Land covers topics including verdicts and settlements and insurance-related litigation for the Daily Report in Atlanta.
