Finding could send shock waves through cleaning industry’s trend toward use of contrators
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that 2650 California and Oregon FedEx Ground drivers, which the company had classified as independent contractors, were in fact employees.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees have rights to overtime pay, unemployment insurance, time off from work per the Medical and Family Leave Act, and fall under minimum wage laws.
The ruling could have implications for the residential cleaning industry, where cleaning business owners are attempting to use an independent contractor model to keep costs down. Whereas Traditional Maid Services typically hire cleaning technicians as employees, Virtual Maid Services utilize contract workers, and may avoid the overhead of vehicle fleets, brick-and-mortar locations, cleaning supplies, worker’s compensation benefits and unemployment insurance. Read more about the court decision in Forbes and The New York Times. To learn more about how Virtual Maid Services may integrate into the cleaning industry, click here.
