Zirx — an on-demand car services company headquartered in California — is the latest company to be accused of misclassifying its workers as independent contractors instead of employees. Independent contractors are not eligible for overtime and other benefits that are afforded to employees. A former Zirx employee has filed a complaint against the company because she believes that similarly situated workers are actually employees based on the way in which they are treated.
Allegedly, the company entices people to become Zirx independent contractors by telling them that they are their own bosses. They apparently are also told that they can work a schedule that works around their lives. However, the plaintiff claims that she was told to work a set schedule and was required to follow Zirx’s dress code and wear a uniform.
The plaintiff worked for Zirx as an agent parking cars for less than a year. She was paid $2 for each car that she parked and then $4 for selling other services in addition to her receiving $14 per hour. The rate per hour was later raised to $15. The former valet claims that she worked anywhere from 50-60 hours per week and never received overtime pay.
A Zirx spokesperson stated that the company provides a rewarding environment for its agents, but would not comment further about the discrepancies in the treatment of agents in the plaintiff’s story. Zirx has 3,000 agents across Washington, California and Washington D.C. The plaintiff is seeking to have her case classified as class action to encompass all of the other independent contractors who have been misclassified and have lost out on overtime and other related benefits.
Source: geekwire.com, “On-demand valet service Zirx sued over workers’ independent contractor classification“, Jacob Demmitt, Dec. 8, 2015