Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp.

• Decision Date: 03 October 1996
• Docket Number: No. 94-35770,94-35770
• Citation: 97 F.3d 1187
• Parties: -6690, 65 USLW 2249, 96-2 USTC P 50,533, 20 Employee Benefits Cas. 1873, Unempl.Ins.Rep. (CCH) P 15588B, 96 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 7370, 96 Daily Journal D.A.R. 12,105, Pens. Plan Guide P 23926U Donna VIZCAINO; Jon R. Waite; Mark Stout; Geoffrey Culbert; Lesley Stuart; Thomas Morgan; Elizabeth Spokoiny; Larry Spokoiny, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MICROSOFT CORPORATION, and its pension and welfare benefit plans, et al., Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 1187

97 F.3d 1187

78 A.F.T.R.2d 96-6690, 65 USLW 2249,

96-2 USTC P 50,533,

20 Employee Benefits Cas. 1873,

Unempl.Ins.Rep. (CCH) P 15588B,

96 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 7370,

96 Daily Journal D.A.R. 12,105,

Pens. Plan Guide P 23926U

Donna VIZCAINO; Jon R. Waite; Mark Stout; Geoffrey

Culbert; Lesley Stuart; Thomas Morgan;

Elizabeth Spokoiny; Larry Spokoiny, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. MICROSOFT CORPORATION, and its pension and welfare benefit

plans, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 94-35770.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted Oct. 18, 1995.

Decided Oct. 3, 1996.

Stephen K. Strong and David F. Stobaugh, Bendich, Stobaugh & Strong, Seattle, WA, for plaintiffs-appellants.

James D. Oswald and Timothy St. Clair Smith, Davies, Roberts & Reid, Seattle, WA, for defendants-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, Carolyn R. Dimmick, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-93-00178-CRD.

Before: REINHARDT and TROTT, Circuit Judges, and SCHWARZER, District Judge. ^*

Opinion by Judge REINHARDT; Dissent by Judge TROTT.

REINHARDT, Circuit Judge:

Large corporations have increasingly adopted the practice of hiring temporary employees or independent contractors as a means of avoiding payment of employee benefits, and thereby increasing their profits. This practice has understandably led to a number of problems, legal and otherwise. One of the legal issues that sometimes arises is exemplified by this lawsuit. The named plaintiffs, who were classified by Microsoft as independent contractors, seek to strip that label of its protective covering and to obtain for themselves certain benefits that the company provided to all of its regular or permanent employees. After certifying the named plaintiffs as representatives of a class of "common-law employees," the district court granted summary judgment to Microsoft on all counts. The named plaintiffs and the class they represent now appeal as to two of their claims: a) the claim, made pursuant to section 502(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a), that they are entitled to savings benefits under Microsoft's Savings Plus Plan (SPP); and b) the claim, made pursuant to Washington state law, that they are entitled to stock-option benefits under Microsoft's Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). In both cases, the claims are based on their contention that they are common-law employees.

I

Microsoft, one of the country's fastest growing and most successful corporations and the world's largest software company, produces and sells computer software internationally. It employs a core staff of permanent employees. It categorizes them as "regular employees" and offers them a wide variety of benefits, including paid vacations, sick leave, holidays, short-term disability, group health and life insurance, and pensions, as well as the two benefits involved in this appeal. Microsoft supplements its core staff of employees with a pool of individuals to whom it refuses to pay fringe benefits. It The named plaintiffs worked for Microsoft in the United States between 1987 and 1990 as freelancers in the company's international division. ¹ Some were still working for the company when the suit was filed in 1993, and may still be doing so today. Although hired to work on specific projects, seven of the eight named plaintiffs had worked on successive projects for a minimum of two years prior to the time the action was filed, while the eighth had worked for more than a year. During that time, they performed services as software testers, production editors, proofreaders, formatters and indexers. Microsoft fully integrated the plaintiffs into its workforce: they often worked on teams along with regular employees, sharing the same supervisors, performing identical functions, and working the same core hours. Because Microsoft required that they work on site, they received admittance card keys, office equipment and supplies from the company.

                previously classified these individuals as "independent contractors" or "freelancers," but prior to the filing of the action began classifying them as "temporary agency employees."   Freelancers were hired when Microsoft needed to expand its workforce to meet the demands of new product schedules.  The company did not, of course, provide them with any of the employee benefits regular employees receive
                

Freelancers and regular employees, however, were not without their obvious distinctions. Freelancers wore badges of a different color, had different electronic-mail addresses, and attended a less formal orientation than that provided to regular employees. They were not permitted to assign their work to others, invited to official company functions, or paid overtime wages. In addition, they were not paid through Microsoft's payroll department. Instead, they submitted invoices for their services, documenting their hours and the projects on which they worked, and were paid through the accounts receivable department.

The plaintiffs were told when they were hired that, as freelancers, they would not be eligible for benefits. None has contended that Microsoft ever promised them any benefits individually. All eight named plaintiffs signed "Microsoft Corporation Independent Contractor Copyright Assignment and Non-Disclosure Agreements" (non-disclosure agreements) as well as companion documents entitled "Independent Contractor/Freelancer Information" (information documents) when first hired by Microsoft or soon thereafter. The non-disclosure agreement, a three-page document primarily concerned with confidentiality, included a provision that states that the undersigned "agrees to be responsible for all federal and state taxes, withholding, social security, insurance and other benefits." The information document likewise states that "as an Independent Contractor to Microsoft, you are self-employed and are responsible to pay all your own insurance and benefits." Eventually, the plaintiffs learned of the various benefits being provided to regular employees from speaking with them or reading various Microsoft publications concerning employee benefits.

In 1989 and 1990, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) examined Microsoft's employment records to determine whether the company was in compliance with the tax laws. Applying common-law principles defining the employer-employee relationship, it concluded that Microsoft's freelancers were not independent contractors but employees for withholding and employment tax purposes, and that Microsoft would thereafter be required to pay withholding taxes and the employer's portion of Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) tax. ² Microsoft agreed to pay In response to the IRS rulings, Microsoft began "converting" its freelancers. That is, it tendered offers to some freelancers to become permanent employees; it gave other freelancers the option of terminating their employment relationship with Microsoft completely or continuing to work at the company but in the capacity of employees of a new temporary employment agency, which would provide payroll services, withhold federal taxes, and pay the employer's portion of FICA taxes. Most of the plaintiffs who were not given the opportunity to become permanent employees decided to become "temporary agency employees" rather than to be fired. However, Donna Vizcaino refused that option and was discharged. Those who elected "temporary employee status" noticed little change in the terms or conditions of their employment; they continued working the same hours on the same projects and under the same supervisors.

overdue employer withholding taxes and issue retroactive W-2 forms to allow the freelancers to recover Microsoft's share of FICA taxes, which they had been required to pay. It apparently also agreed to pay freelancers retroactively for any overtime they may have worked.

After learning of the IRS rulings, the plaintiffs sought various employee benefits, including those now at issue: the ESPP and SPP benefits. The SPP, which became effective January 1, 1987, is a cash or deferred salary arrangement under § 401k of the Internal Revenue Code that permits Microsoft's employees to save and invest up to fifteen percent of their income through tax-deferred payroll deductions. Under the plan, Microsoft matches fifty percent of the employee's contribution in any year, with a maximum matching contribution of three percent of the employee's yearly compensation. The ESPP, established in January, 1986, permits employees to purchase company stock at eighty-five percent of the lower of the fair market value on the first or on the last day of each six-month offering period through payroll deductions of from two to ten percent. Employees may purchase shares having a value not exceeding ten percent of their gross compensation for the offering period.

Microsoft rejected the plaintiffs' claims for benefits, maintaining that they were independent contractors who were personally responsible for all their own benefits. The plaintiffs sought review of the denial of benefits from the Microsoft plan administrator, who determined that the plaintiffs were ineligible because they contractually waived any rights to benefits and, in any event, they were not " 'regular, full time employees' in approved headcount positions." Although ruling "technically" only on the denial of ERISA benefits, the plan administrator concluded, for the same reasons, that the plaintiffs were ineligible to receive non-ERISA benefits.

The named plaintiffs brought this action, challenging the denial of benefits. Following cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court referred the matter to Magistrate Judge David E. Wilson, who recommended that an award be made in favor of the plaintiffs on both their SPP and ESPP claims. First, he concluded that the SPP was ambiguous with respect to whether it afforded coverage to the...