The state of California’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, Department of Industrial Relations, claimed that between March 28, 2007, and Aug. 31, 2010, ZipRealty Inc. violated the state minimum wage requirement. Plaintiffs Nadine Radovicz, Steven Kinney, Patricia Parson-Adams and Marilee Tomczak originally filed a lawsuit against ZipRealty in Kern County Superior Court. The plaintiffs were ultimately awarded $330,202 in total damages, but the case ultimately settled for $586,069. Thereafter, the California State Labor Commissioner, on behalf of 2,670 similarly situated ZipRealty agents brought a class action against ZipRealty, alleging that the defendant violated the California Labor Code and the Fair Labor Standards Act. The California State Labor Commissioner claimed that between March 28, 2007, the statutory limit, and Aug. 31, 2010, the last day before ZipRealty converted all of its California-based agents from employees to independent contractors, ZipRealty failed to pay the proper wage requirement to the 2,670 people who were classified as its employees. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the 2,670 ZipRealty agents were entitled to unpaid minimum and overtime wages. Counsel also contended that ZipRealty’s commission-based compensation did not account for roughly 75 percent of the California agents’ pay periods, in which they were entitled to minimum wage, as well as any earned overtime wages. ZipRealty contended that the California agents qualified for the Outside Sales Exemption under the Labor Code. Thus, it contended that the California agents were exempt from minimum and overtime wages since they conducted over 50 percent of their business out in the field, away from an employee office setting. Plaintiffs’ counsel responded that the agents spent under 50 percent of their time working in the field, and that over 50 percent of their time was spent in an office or home-office setting, making telephone calls to clients and potential clients., The Division of Labor Standards Enforcement sought recovery of damages in excess of $17 million for the classified agents’ back wages, which included unpaid minimum and overtime wages, as well as penalties.