Lowe’s Pays $6.5 Million to Settle Contractor Misclassification Lawsuit

A federal judge in California Jan. 12 gave final approval to a $6.5 million settlement with Lowe’s HIW Inc. to resolve a class action alleging the retailer misclassified home improvement workers as independent contractors (Shephard v. Lowe’s HIW Inc., N.D. Cal., 4:12-cv-03893, order 1/12/15).

Lead plaintiff Ronald Shephard, owner of Merrill’s Garage Doors Inc., alleged Lowe’s treated installers as independent contractors while controlling all aspects of installation jobs, including: designating the customers for whom plaintiffs would perform installations; requiring that all customers pay Lowe’s directly for all work plaintiffs performed; requiring workers wear Lowe’s shirts and hats ...