Maryland federal judge conditionally certifies wage theft case against Homefix, denies motion to dismiss race discrimination claims

March 6, 2020

A federal district judge in Baltimore, Maryland today issued an opinion regarding two motions in Baylor et al. v. Homefix Remodeling Corp. et al.  The Court conditionally certified a collective action of Homefix’s Lead Developers who Plaintiffs allege were misclassified as independent contractors and denied minimum and overtime wages. The Court also denied Homefix’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ race discrimination claim.

Plaintiffs filed this case on April 24, 2019. Homefix is a residential remodeling business that operates throughout the Mid-Atlantic, allegedly relying on multi-level marketing tactics to secure clients. This case alleges multiple violations of state and federal wage-and-hour laws on behalf of individuals who worked to generate leads for Homefix’s sales representatives through door-to-door canvassing and other in-person contacts. Plaintiffs also allege intentional race discrimination in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981, and common law breach of contract claims.

Murphy Anderson attorneys Mark Hanna, Roseann R. Romano, Caleb Jackson, and Adam Breihan, along with Sally Dworak-Fisher and Monisha Cherayil of the Public Justice Center and Danny Katz and Joanna Wasik of the Washington Lawyers Committee, represent the Plaintiffs.