Ruffulo v. Farmers Settlement

Plaintiffs are two former agents appointed by Defendants Farmers Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange, and Fire Insurance Exchange, among others (collectively, “Farmers”), who filed a lawsuit (the “Action”) alleging that they and other Farmers agents outside of the state of California were misclassified as independent contractors and did not receive overtime pay in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) (the “FLSA Collective”). Plaintiffs allege that they and these other agents should have been classified as non-exempt hourly employees and paid overtime for weeks in which they worked more than 40 hours. In the Action, Plaintiffs also pursued age discrimination claims on behalf of themselves and other Farmers agents outside of California whose contracts were terminated because of the Managing Underperforming Agents process that ended in 2020. Those claims are also being settled, but are addressed in a separate Notice directed at the FEHA Class Members.

Defendants fully deny the allegations made by Plaintiffs and assert that Farmers insurance agents were properly classified as independent contractors and are not subject to federal overtime requirements and therefore not entitled to overtime pay. Importantly, the Court has not decided the employment status of Plaintiffs or any other Settlement Class Member and/or whether Defendants violated any law. Without admitting any liability, Defendants have agreed to settle these claims to avoid the costs of further litigation.

The Settlement covers anyone who (i) signed a Farmers Agent Appointment Agreement or a Farmers Corporate Agent Appointment Agreement not containing an agreement to arbitrate; and (ii) worked as a Farmers agent or Supervising Agent for an incorporated Farmers agency outside of the state of California at any time between March 9, 2020, and September 30, 2025 (the “Settlement Class Period”) (these individuals are referred as the “FLSA Collective Members”).

On January 5, 2026, the Court preliminary approved a Settlement Agreement agreed to by the Parties and authorized the mailing of the Notice to you. You have received the Notice because Defendants’ records indicate you were an agent appointed with Farmers working outside of the state of California during the Settlement Class Period.

If you submitted the FLSA Opt-in form so that it was postmarked to the Settlement Administrator by April, 9 2026, you will receive a check totaling approximately the amount that was listed in the Notice you received.

Settlement payments will be allocated to all FLSA Collective Members on a pro rata basis based on the number of workweeks worked.

Pursuant to the Settlement, Defendants agreed to pay up to a total of $10,000,000 (“Gross Settlement Amount”) to resolve all claims asserted in the Action, inclusive of all alleged unpaid wages, overtime compensation, liquidated damages, penalties, interest, Court-approved attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Expenses, service payments to Plaintiffs, individual Settlement payments to Participating FLSA Collective Members, the costs of administering the Settlement, and all other Settlement-related payments and costs. $4,500,000 of the Gross Settlement Amount is allocated to FLSA Collective claims, and $5,500,000 of it is being allocated to age discrimination claims discussed in FAQ 1 on behalf of those individuals.

The Court approved the Settlement on June 15, 2026. You may view the Final Approval Order under the Documents tab.

The Court appointed the following lawyers as Settlement Class Counsel to represent the FLSA Collective Members:

Settlement Class Counsel has pursued the lawsuit on a contingent basis and has not received any payment of fees or any reimbursement of their out-of-pocket expenses related to the recovery on behalf of the FLSA Collective. As part of the Settlement, subject to Court approval, Settlement Class Counsel will apply for Fees, Costs, and Expenses in an amount not to exceed 33.33% of the Gross Settlement Amount. In addition, Plaintiffs who were named in the complaint in this case and expended significant time and effort in getting the claims litigated and settled will seek service payments of no greater than $10,000 each for their role in this case. Additionally, an amount of up to $114,000 will be paid to the Settlement Administrator for services administering the Settlement. Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Expenses and service payments will not be deducted from your estimated Settlement payment.

The deadline to Opt-in to the Settlement was April 9, 2026, and has passed. If you did nothing and failed to timely submit a complete FLSA Opt-In Form, you will receive nothing from the Settlement. You will not be bound by the final judgment or the Release. You may still have the right under federal law to file a complaint under the FLSA (the “Fair Labor Standards Act”) if the deadline to file such a claim has not already expired. However, you will not receive any money pursuant to this Settlement.

By opting in to the Settlement, you and each of your respective agents, companies (e.g., your incorporated agency, if applicable), representatives, assigns, spouses, and heirs, past and present, and any and all other persons or entities who could claim through you hereby release and forever discharge the Released Parties with respect to any and all claims, demands, liabilities, obligations, debts, attorneys’ fees, costs of suit, actions, or causes of action of every kind and nature whether at common law, pursuant to statute, ordinance, or regulation, in equity or otherwise, whether arising under federal, state, or other applicable law, whether known or unknown, actual or potential, suspected or unsuspected, direct or indirect, or contingent or fixed that have been alleged, could have been alleged, or in the future might be alleged, that reasonably arise out of or reasonably relate to the facts and/or claims set forth in the Operative Complaint during the Settlement Class Period, which is March 9, 2020, through September 30, 2025, relating to Plaintiffs’ first cause of action under the FLSA for alleged unpaid overtime and corresponding portions of Plaintiffs’ fifth cause of action for violation of the Unfair Competition Law, including, but not limited to: (i) Plaintiffs’ claims that they and the FLSA Collective Members were misclassified as independent contractors, rather than employees; and (ii) that Defendants failed to fully, completely, and timely compensate Plaintiffs and the FLSA Collective Members for all hours of overtime worked.

“Released Parties” means Defendants Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange, and Farmers Group, Inc., as well as Mid-Century Insurance Company, and New World Life Insurance Company and each of their respective subsidiaries or affiliates, and each of their present and former predecessors, successors, assigns, parent companies, divisions, members, owners, executives, officers, directors, governors, shareholders, advisors, joint venturers, insurers, attorneys, accountants, agents and agent staff, district managers and district manager staff, principals, partners, representatives, employees, attorneys-in-fact, consultants, contractors, servants, vendors, managers, and their trustees, administrators, fiduciaries, co- defendants, administrators, related individuals and/or entities, insurers, and/or any and all individuals and/or entities acting by, through, under, or in concert with any of them or otherwise affiliated with them, past and present, but to the extent, and only to the extent, that they acted in their capacity as such.

The Court approved the Settlement on June 15, 2026. You may view the Final Approval Order under the Documents tab above.

Tax Matters

The Settlement Administrator will report payments to FLSA Collective Members on IRS 1099 Forms. Neither Plaintiffs, Settlement Class Counsel, Defendants, nor Defendants' attorneys are providing you with any advice regarding taxes or taxability of any payments made to you in connection with this Settlement. You assume full responsibility and liability for taxes owed on any payment you receive. You should consult with your financial or tax advisor with respect to any questions regarding these payments. FLSA Collective Members who do not complete an FLSA Opt-In Form will not release any claims.

A hearing was held before the Honorable Judge Fernando M. Olguin of the United States District Court for the Central District of California on June 4, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 6D of the First Street Courthouse. The purpose of the hearing was for the Court to decide whether the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and should be approved and, if so, to determine what amount of attorneys' Fees, Costs, and Expenses and service payments to the named Plaintiffs should be awarded. The Court approved the Settlement on June 15, 2026. You may view the Final Approval Order under the documents section above.

Defendants will not retaliate against you for participating in this Action and/or this Settlement.

This Website only summarizes this Action, the Settlement, and related matters. For more information about the Settlement or if you have any questions regarding the Settlement, you may examine the court file for the Action, contact the Settlement Administrator or contact Settlement Class Counsel.

You may also obtain additional information concerning the Settlement from the Documents page above, or by contacting the Settlement Administrator at:

By Mail:

Ruffulo v. Farmers Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 5526
Portland, OR 97228-5526

By Phone:

877-768-6775

To see the complete court file, including a copy of the Settlement Agreement, you should visit the Clerk of the Court, United States Courthouse, Central District of California, 350 W. 1st Street, 6th Floor, Courtroom 6D, Los Angeles, CA 90012. The Clerk will make all files relating to this Action available to you for inspection and copying at your expense.

Do not contact the Court for any reason other than obtaining a copy of the complete court file which must be requested in person.