The state of California and the City of San Francisco have filed a lawsuit against Qwick, a staffing company supplying workers for companies in the restaurant and hospitality business, accusing Qwick of misclassifying workers as independent contractors to sidestep California labor and wage laws.
"Since Qwick began operating in California in or around January 2019, Defendants misclassified and continue to misclassify hospitality workers as independent contractors, in direct contravention of California law," says the lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court. "Because Qwick has made the decision to misclassify its hospitality workers as independent contractors, these workers have never been guaranteed the basic labor protections afforded to employees such as minimum wage, overtime pay, mandatory breaks, paid family leave, paid sick leave, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance."
By California law workers are assumed to be employees of the company unless the company can establish otherwise through a strict "ABC" test, the lawsuit states.
"Qwick cannot overcome this presumption with respect to its hospitality workers," the suit says. "Qwick’s entire business is to supply staff to fill traditional employee positions within the food and beverage industry."
Qwick vets and interviews the workers, hires them, "maintains an evaluation system that rates each hospitality worker, directly pays hospitality workers for their hours worked, charges clients a 40% fee for providing hospitality workers, and wrongfully instructs both its clients and the hospitality workers that the hospitality workers are independent contractors," the suit says.
Classifying the employees as contractors allowed Quick to avoid state and local laws that protect workers, the state alleged in its compaint.
"Qwick’s unlawful employee misclassification must come to an end," said the lawsuit. "The People and the City bring this action to ensure that Qwick’s Hospitality Workers receive the full compensation, protections, and benefits they are guaranteed under the law, to restore a level playing field for competing businesses, and to preserve jobs and hard-won worker protections for all Californians."
The suit seeks up to $2,500 in damages for each violation and a court order stopping the company from classifying the workers as contractors.
People of the State of California et al v. Qwick Inc. et al. San Francisco Superior Court CGC-23-608756