owners are brain dead

Coverall Looses Coverall to pay triple damages. Good article that came out on Bluemaumau.org
Here is the link to the full story

http://www.bluemaumau.org/11385/coverall_pay_triple_damages

Coverall to Pay Triple Damages

Posted Sat, 2012/03/17 - 21:53 by Janet Sparks


BOSTON – A federal judge ruled last Thursday that Coverall North America must pay triple damages to hundreds of workers classified as franchisees instead of employees, dating back from 2006. Previously, he had ruled that the court would triple damages from 2010. That changes the calculation of damages dramatically, adding the four year period.

In addition to the award on damages, the global janitorial cleaning franchisor will have to pay all the initial franchise fees and additional business fees, as well as recovering insurance deductions. The judge said those fees were unlawful and can be recovered as provided by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan of Lichten & Liss-Riordan, representing the class plaintiffs, said they were excited about the order. “We are very pleased that the workers who did not have arbitration agreements will be getting a judgment, and can finally see a conclusion to their case, ” she declared.

Liss-Riordan said the parties were given 30 days to submit what final calculations are based on from this order. She added, “We are now looking forward to the judge’s further rulings on the workers who had arbitration agreements. That will be the next step.”

The case, Awuah v Coverall North America Inc., has been closely watched by the franchise community since it began in 2007. The original complaint filed by eight purported franchisees alleges that they were misclassified as independent contractors instead of the reality of being employees. They accused Coverall of not providing the promised volume of cleaning contracts to them after they paid $6, 000 to $30, 000.

As employees, the plaintiffs assert that Coverall is also liable for minimum wage, overtime and wage law violations. In the lawsuit, the employees claim breach of contract, misrepresentation, deceptive and unfair business practices and unjust enrichment.