Longtime SC independent installer sues Lowe’s, seeks employee pay and benefits

For 20 years, Perry Finch has been what is called an independent installer for Lowe’s, wearing the company’s uniform and hat as he put in thousands of doors and windows in homes and offices all over the Midlands for the national home improvement chain, according to a lawsuit.

But now, Finch, 59, who lives in Lexington County, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court asserting since he is required to do many things an actual Lowe’s employee does, he wants to be compensated as an actual employee — including getting vacation, sick leave, holiday pay and paid time and half for working over 40 hours a week.

Finch is seeking class action status for his lawsuit. More than 200 other South Carolinians whom Lowe’s calls contract installers are eligible to join in the lawsuit, the lawsuit says. There are approximately 50 Lowe’s stores in South Carolina.

Contacted by The State, a Lowe’s spokeswoman said, “We will not comment on this pending litigation.”

The 16-page lawsuit says installers such as Finch are “misclassified by Lowe’s as independent contractors rather than as ... employees” and so are deprived of “all the benefits and protections that employees are entitled to by law and by company policies.”

Lowe’s tells its customers that the installers — who put in windows, doors, floors, kitchen cabinets and ceiling fans — are “Lowe’s trained, approved and qualified,” the lawsuit says.

Finch gets up at 5 a.m. daily, checks his Lowe’s work order online portal and uses the portal to keep Lowe’s updated on the status of his jobs, often working until 11 p.m., the lawsuit says. He also meets with the customer to confirm specifications and costs that the Lowe’s sales team has worked up, and Lowe’s handles all financial matters associated with installation, the lawsuit says.

The online work and actual installation often take far more than 40 hours a week, but Lowe’s avoids paying time and a half for overtime since it is classifying installers such as Finch as independent contractors, the lawsuit says.

“The Installers perform functions that are an essential part of Lowe’s normal and growing business operation,” the lawsuit says, adding that installers are prohibited from working for Home Depot and can rarely do other installation work. “They constitute an integral part of the company’s business under its substantial control. “

Installers also have to attend company meetings on their own time without compensation, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit alleges numerous violations of both South Carolina’s Payment of Wages Act and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. It seeks compensation for the past three years and to have Lowe’s classify the contractors as employees.

A similar lawsuit brought by contractors against Lowe’s in California resulted in a $6.5 million settlement in 2014, according to news reports. In 2017, Lowe’s settled a similar lawsuit in New Jersey for nearly $3 million, according to news reports.

“This is being repeated by Lowe’s throughout the country, and they are exploiting hard-working individuals and denying them employee status,” said Eric Bland, one of Finch’s lawyers along with Todd Ellis and Bryn Sarvis.

Ellis said, “Lowe’s wants the benefits of having our clients seen as representatives of Lowe’s in the field and control their work completely but not have to pay the wages and benefits for employees required by the law.”

Federal Judge Michelle Childs of Columbia is handling the case.

Finch ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary in June for a state Senate seat in Lexington County, losing to Chris Smith, who will challenge longtime incumbent Sen. Nikki Setzler, D-Lexington, in November.

Lowe’s, with more than 2,300 stores nationwide, is the nation’s second-largest home improvement retailer. Headquartered in Mooresville, N.C., it does more than $70 billion worth of business annually.

This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM.