Wrong Standard Applied for ‘Employee’ in Bankruptcy Case

The wrong standard was applied to determine whether a gas station cashier who worked as a floater was an “employee” of a company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York held (Gyalpo v. Holbrook Dev. Corp., 2017 BL 303758, E.D.N.Y., No. 16-CV-3818 (JFB), 8/29/17).

The bankruptcy court applied common law agency principles in determining whether Sonam Gyalpo was an “employee” of Holbrook Development Corp. rather than the standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the New York Labor Law, Judge Joseph F. Bianco wrote Aug. 29.

The bankruptcy court ...