Saturday, May 18, 2002

Allstate Said
According to the E.E.O.C., the company required agents to convert from being employees with health and pension benefits into independent contractors. Ms. Bruner said Allstate had acknowledged telling the agents they would not be permitted to work for the company unless they agreed in writing not to sue for any kind of employment discrimination. Such an action is a form of illegal pre-emptive retaliation, she said in the letter, which urged the company and the agents to begin settlement talks.

For nearly two years, Allstate has been fighting similar claims that it forced thousands of auto and home insurance agents to become independent contractors. Those agents sued Allstate in Federal District Court in Philadelphia in August. In December, the E.E.O.C. also sued Allstate.

Allstate has in turn sued the agents for fraud, saying they got severance or other benefits after agreeing not to sue the company, but never intended to honor their agreements. Susan Rosborough, an Allstate lawyer, said the company, the country's second-largest seller of auto and home insurance after State Farm, treated its agents properly and legally. The company says it wants to make its sales force more efficient and is increasing commissions to compensate for the elimination of benefits. But Michael Wilson, the lead lawyer in the agents' private suit, said their earnings as independent contractors were not making up for the losses in benefits.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/05/18/business/18INSU.html?todaysheadlines

No comments:

Post a Comment

con·cept