A woman who worked for a pair of field service companies by going out and attempting to make contact with individuals who had unpaid debts is suing the firms, alleging they violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by classifying her and her co-workers as independent contractors and not employees, thereby forgoing having to pay overtime and make sure they earned a minimum wage.
Creditors and collection agencies will often hire field services companies to help them locate and make contact with individuals who have unpaid debts. Among the duties performed by those people working for field services companies are:
- Make a “Field Contact” (actual contact) with the customer (debtor)
- Verify and/or update customer and collateral/security property information
- Deliver to the customer or leave at customer’s home, as appropriate, a contact letter
- Perform inspections of the customer’s property
- Perform scripted interviews with customers
- Take photographs of the customer’s collateral and visited address
- Upon making contact with the customer, encourage customer to immediately contact lender/servicer and provide the use of cell phone if necessary to facilitate that call
The employees are paid based on the services that are provided, such as earning $7 for delivering a letter to an individual and $75 for conducting a scripted interview. The number of hours worked by the plaintiff and her co-workers depended on the number of accounts that were assigned to them. In some cases, the plaintiff worked as many as 70 hours in a week.
The defendants are also accused of not reimbursing its contractors/employees for mileage and other expenses.
The defendants were required to adhere to a dress code, wear badges identifying the company they were representing, and comply with written policies and procedures.
The defendant also claimed she was fired from her job as a result of filing the lawsuit against the companies that hired her.
A copy of an amended complaint in the case of Elizabeth Elinknan v. RP Field Services and National Creditors Connection, Inc., can be accessed by clicking here.
