GEICO Accused of Misclassifying Agents, Denying Them Benefits

GEICO Corp. wrongly classifies certain insurance agents as independent contractors and blocks them from receiving the full retirement, health, and life insurance benefits to which they’re entitled, a proposed class action complaint alleged.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday by GEICO insurance agent James Moyer, accuses the insurer of misclassifying hundreds of its “captive” insurance agents—those who agree to sell only GEICO products—as independent contractors instead of employees. According to Moyer, these workers qualify as employees because GEICO trains them, dictates how they do business, controls their telephone and computer systems, and even controlled whether they could close in-person services during ...