DirecTV will pay more than $23 million to settle claims it erroneously classified some of its California-based technicians as independent contractors.
The settlement comes after some of the technicians sued on the basis that they performed work that should have classified them as employees and entitled them to benefits.
Affected technicians include those who worked between October 2011 and May 2022, and who were assigned a DirecTV identification number through Siebel, a customer relations management program that the satellite company used for marketing and sales in California. Technicians who were employed by White Communications or who have pending claims against DirecTV in the federal Central District of California.
Of the more than $23 million in cash, DirecTV has already paid around $3 million of it to current and former technicians who should have been classified as employees. The rest will have to visit a special settlement website to determine if they are eligible and to file a claim.
DirecTV has denied any claims of wrongdoing. The company was purchased by AT&T in 2015 and spun off into a separate entity — one that AT&T continues to co-own — earlier this year.
