Farm Bureau Insurance Companies Hit with Employee Misclassification Lawsuit

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Mississippi Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company is among three defendants staring down a proposed class action case filed by eight plaintiffs who claim they’re among a group of current and former insurance agents nationwide misclassified as independent contractors exempt from overtime wages. The complaint, which also names Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company and Southern Farm Bureau Casualty Insurance Company as defendants, outright alleges the entities misclassified workers in an attempt to avoid their overtime wage obligation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Arguing that the relationship between members of the proposed class and the defendants was that of an employer and employees, the lawsuit states insurance agents were, for instance, prohibited from selling and servicing policies from other insurance companies while working for Farm Bureau. Members of the proposed class were also issued business cards with the Farm Bureau name and logo, the case adds, and were required to use signatures and email addresses that identified them as Farm Bureau agents. All told, the complaint asserts that nearly every aspect of the plaintiffs’ jobs was controlled, monitored or set in place by the defendants.