The Fifth Circuit recently held in Hopkins v. Cornerstone America that so-called “sales leaders” were still employees of Cornerstone America rather than independent contractors and therefore were entitled to overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).  In affirming the district court’s decision, the Fifth Circuit concluded that the former employees could not reasonably be considered “separate economic entities” because Cornerstone controlled the meaningful economic aspects of their business.  In particular, Cornerstone: decided on the type and price of insurance products that the sales leaders could sell; controlled the number of leads that each sale leader received; and determined the geographic territories where the sales leaders could operate without the plaintiffs’ input.

Principal Nicholas Woodfield of The Employment Law Group® law firm was featured on Avvo for his legal guide on wage and hour laws.  The guide which provides an overview of minimum wage and overtime standards established by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) can be found at http://www.avvo.com/legal-guides/ugc/wage-hour-laws.  For more information about the FLSA and The Employment Law Group® law firm’s wage and hour practice, click here.