When Does an Employer Exercise “Substantial Control” over a Salesperson?
For nearly 15 years, the plaintiff in this case worked for Nynex Long Distance Co. d/b/a Verizon Enterprise Solutions (Verizon), a large telecommunications vendor, and its corporate predecessors. During his time at the company, he rose through the ranks and attained the position of “Account Manager,” later renamed “Corporate Account Manager 3” (CAM 3). This was one of the highest level sales positions at Verizon, and the plaintiff held this position until his employment was terminated. As a CAM 3 working out of Verizon’s office in Portland, Maine, the plaintiff sold products and services associated with high-speed voice and data networks. He was assigned a module of 20 to 50 large customer accounts and was not permitted to call on customers who were not within his assigned module. This meant that he needed to make repeat sales to the same customers in his module. To accomplish this, he had quarterly meetings, or “planning sessions,” with his customers. In these meetings, the customers
