Gulfport, MS. . . .
People go into business on their own for a number of reasons, but the ability to "be your own boss" at the top of the list. So, when Allstate Insurance converted most of its sales force by the worker status of independent contractor in 2000, many of those agents provided for the liberation from the requirement to be an employee of Allstate. Eight years later, 11,000 + Allstate agents are still waiting for their independence.
Allstate agents have found that as "independent contractors" are:
Office hours required.
Sales quotas.
Verbal and written warnings threatening loss of contract for not meeting the expectations of society.
An obligation to transmit telephone calls to the office of company service centers after hours.
Subjection to different employee, such as checks, including annual performance reviews.
Mandatory meetings and training sessions.
Restrictions on certain incoming e-mail, some blocked.
In fact, many staff feel they are treated more like workers today compared to when they were actual employees. He said one officer, "Well, we had a pension plan and, if the company wanted to fire you, he was an officer aboard a review underway. Now, you can shoot with or without reason. "
Allstate agents are certainly not the first independent contractors being treated as employees, without the accompanying benefits. In 2007, after filing a class action lawsuit demanding parity with the drivers of employees, current and former FedEx independent contractor pilots were delighted when Judge Robert Miller of the U.S. District Court in Northern Indiana certified as a class. It is not the only action allowed their case to proceed, but has opened the door to similar cases concerning other independent contractors who are treated as employees.
Two months after the U.S. District Court decision in Northern Indiana, the Internal Revenue Service collected 319 million U.S. dollars in fines and penalties imposed against the Federal Express. Fines and penalties were subsequently withdrawn, but the IRS continues to audit Federal Express for the years 2004 to 2006.
So why has not the IRS went after Allstate?
"This is a good question," said Jim Fish, executive director of the National Association of Professional Allstate Agents, a non-profit that represents the rights of Allstate agents. "Agents bear all the costs and risks associated with operating an independent business, but are controlled as employees. Meanwhile, Allstate has a huge competitive cost advantage, avoiding the costs of pensions, health insurance, 401k, social security, and, above all, federal taxes. One might think that alone would be the attention of the IRS rate, but that was not the case. "
The long term objective for most insurance agents is to build their book of business and then when they retire, sell to the highest bidder. At Allstate, this is not always possible because the company controls who buy these books of business. He said one officer, "Our activity books were to replace our pensions, but [manager Allstate] have started to interfere in the sale process, which has lowered the value of our agencies. This is not fair, because for many of us, our book of business is the most important asset we have on seniority. "
For more information on the National Association of Professional Allstate Agents, you can visit the website at www. napaausa. org or call (877) 269-3474.
Headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi, NAPA is a non-profit organization whose members are mostly insurance agents under contract with Allstate. Besides offering a wide range of benefits and services, Napa further serves its members by acting on their behalf and speak with a separate item and free on a wide range of issues. To contact NAPA, please visit www. napaausa. org or call (877) 269-3474.
Tags: Deliberately, misclassified