Workers Performing Services At Movie Theaters Were "Employees" Of Janitorial Services Company For FLSA Purposes
Applying the "economic realities" test, a United States District Court has held that workers who performed cleaning, janitorial and maintenance services at movie theaters were "employees" of, not independent contractors for, a janitorial services company that had contracted to provide commercial cleaning services to theaters, and there was a basis to define the parties' relationship as that of employer/employee, for purposes of a motion to dismiss their Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) claims for unpaid overtime.
The company controlled the workers and their work by, inter alia,
setting schedules, instructing them how to work, where they were to work, hiring
and firing, and filling out time sheets. The workers had no opportunity for
profit or loss, there was no evidence they purchased their own equipment, their
jobs did not require a high degree of skill or technical expertise, they had an
exclusive relationship with the cleaning company and there was continuity during
the period in which they worked, and their work was a sufficiently integral part
of the company's business.
Quinteros v. Sparkle
Cleaning, Inc.