Bassett, et al. v. Triton Technologies, Inc., et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 09-022-18)
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS SUFFOLK, ss. SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL ACTION No. 16-3475 BLS 2 LAURA BASSETT, JAMIE ZELINSKAS, ALYSSA WRIGHT, and ALEXIS CRAMER, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated Plaintiffs vs. TRITON TECHNOLOGIES, INC., S. JAY NALLI, and ANDREW S. BANK, Defendants MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER ON CROSS MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AS TO COUNT III OF THE COMPLAINT This class action raises the novel question of whether a call-in center where defendant’s employees take orders for goods sold by others is a “store or shop” engaged in the “sale at retail of goods” such that the employees must be paid time and half for work on Sundays. See G.L.c. 136 §6(50). This Court concludes that it is not. As a consequence, the defendants are entitled to summary judgment in their favor on Count III of the Complaint, which alleges that the failure to pay for Sunday work violates the Massachusetts Wage Act, G.L.c. 149 §§148 and 150. BACKGROUND The following facts are not in dispute. The defendant Triton Technologies, Inc. (Triton) is a Massachusetts corporation that operates a call in center in Mansfield. It provides “teleservices” to various companies located throughout the country (Triton’s “Clients”) which produce goods ranging from exercise videos to garden tools. Triton is not involved in the manufacture, design, production or shipping of any of its Clients’ goods. There is no evidence that it stores or at any time takes possession of its Clients’ inventory or that any Client goods are available for purchase at any of its locations, including the Mansfield call center. Typically, customers interested in a Client product reach Triton (or another call center elsewhere in the country) after calling a toll free number that appears on an advertisement for the goods that appears in a variety of media, including television and the internet. That advertising is paid for by the Client. Calls are routed to a Triton employee – called an “Inbound Sales Agent” – who works from a script developed by the Client. The Sales Agents sit at assigned workstations within the call center, which is not open to the public. The Sales Agent takes the caller’s order and payment information, all of which is transmitted to the Client for processing. The Client ships the product directly to the customer. Triton does not receive money from the sales and does not collect sales tax on the goods sold. It does not pay any sale taxes. The Mansfield call center operates 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. Triton’s Sales Agents are scheduled to work based on call volume demand. The Sales Agents are paid an […]