Judge Donald Nugent, a federal judge in Cleveland, Ohio, ruled in favor of thousands of American Family insurance agents when he upheld an earlier jury verdict determining that the agents are employees, not independent contractors based on rules and restrictions placed upon them.
The case was first filed in 2013 by four former American Family Insurance agents, but became a class-action suit in 2016, which added over 7,000 current and former agents, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
As it stands, the decision could cost the Madison-based insurance giant more than $1 billion in retirement benefits, but AmFam will appeal the decision.
