Kimberly Dotson, Jennifer Connor, and Amanda McConnell, individually, and on behalf of others similarly situated v. TZ Insurance Solutions LLC d/b/a Tranzact

CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedMarch 11, 2026
Docket2:25-cv-13323
StatusUnknown

This text of Kimberly Dotson, Jennifer Connor, and Amanda McConnell, individually, and on behalf of others similarly situated v. TZ Insurance Solutions LLC d/b/a Tranzact (Kimberly Dotson, Jennifer Connor, and Amanda McConnell, individually, and on behalf of others similarly situated v. TZ Insurance Solutions LLC d/b/a Tranzact) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kimberly Dotson, Jennifer Connor, and Amanda McConnell, individually, and on behalf of others similarly situated v. TZ Insurance Solutions LLC d/b/a Tranzact, (D.N.J. 2026).

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

KIMBERLY DOTSON, JENNIFER CONNOR, AND AMANDA MCCONNELL, individually, and on behalf of others similarly situated, Case No. 2: 25-cv-13323 (BRM) (MAH) Plaintiffs, OPINION v.

TZ INSURANCE SOLUTIONS LLC d/b/a TRANZACT,

Defendant.

MARTINOTTI, DISTRICT JUDGE Before the Court is Defendant TZ Insurance Solutions LLC, d/b/a Tranzact’s (“Tranzact”) Partial Motion to Dismiss (“Motion”) (ECF No. 34) the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) (ECF No. 26), filed by Plaintiffs Kimberly Dotson (“Dotson”), Jennifer Connor (“Connor”), and Amanda McConnell (“McConnell”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.1 Plaintiffs filed an Opposition on December 1, 2025 (ECF No. 40), and Tranzact filed a Reply on December 23, 2025 (ECF No. 41). Having reviewed and considered the submissions filed in connection with the Motion and

1 “Plaintiff[s] bring[] this action pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 216(b) of the [Fair Labor Standards Act] on their own behalf and on behalf of[] [a]ll current and former remote hourly-paid Technical Support Specialists – Sales Agents . . . who worked for [Tranzact] at any time during the three years preceding the filing of the complaint through judgment.” (ECF No. 26 ¶ 140.) Plaintiffs’ motion for conditional certification remains pending before the Hon. Michael A. Hammer, U.S.M.J., and will be decided in due course. (ECF No. 46.) having declined to hold oral argument pursuant to Rule 78(b), for the reasons set forth below and for good cause having been shown, Tranzact’s Motion (ECF No. 34) is DENIED. I. BACKGROUND For purposes of this Motion, the Court accepts the factual allegations in the Amended

Complaint as true and draws all inferences in the light most favorable to the Plaintiffs. See Phillips v. Cnty. of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 228 (3d Cir. 2008). The Court also considers any “document integral to or explicitly relied upon in the complaint.” In re Burlington Coat Factory Sec. Litig., 114 F.3d 1410, 1426 (3d Cir. 1997). A. Factual Background Tranzact is an insurance marketing and sales organization. (ECF No. 26 ¶¶ 2–3.) To provide its services, it “employs remote, hourly Technical Support Specialists – Sales Agents (“Sales Agents”)” who “provide over-the-phone support to” Tranzact’s customers. (Id. ¶¶ 4, 7.) Sales Agents assist Tranzact’s customers in “finding and obtaining Medicare health plan policies through the various insurance carriers” that contract with Tranzact “like United Healthcare, Kaiser

Permanente, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Humana.” (Id. ¶¶ 4, 50.) Sales Agents are provided not only with hourly pay but also non-discretionary bonuses and incentive payments. (Id. ¶ 5.) “Within the past two years, [Tranzact] employed Plaintiffs as Sales Agents.” (Id. ¶ 7.) Sales Agents use various computer networks, software programs, applications, and phone systems while performing their job responsibilities. (Id. ¶ 17.) They are responsible for, among other things: (a) booting up their computers and logging into several essential computer software programs and applications, as well as [Tranzact]’s phone system, before fielding phone calls; (b) remote computer based work including, but not limited to, taking in-bound calls from and making out-bound calls to individuals who need assistance related to technical issues with their computers, or with customer service related to the products and services offered by [Tranzact]’s corporate customers; (c) ensuring that calls and work are documented and accounted for in [Tranzact]’s systems; and (d) logging out of the computer software programs and applications.

(Id. ¶ 49.) Sales Agents “are all hourly, non-exempt positions with . . . full-time schedules that require them to work at least eight (8) hours per day, on average five (5) days each week, and up to forty . . . or more hours in a workweek.” (Id. ¶ 53.) Tranzact “scheduled its Sales Agents to work forty . . . hours per week and required them to be called [sic] ready or in a meeting status the moment they clocked-in for their shifts.” (Id. ¶ 56.) “Consequently, before each shift the . . . computer bootup process occurred off-the-clock . . . .” (Id. ¶ 57.) The “pre-shift startup and login process [would] take[] on average ten . . . to fifteen . . . minutes per day, and the tasks c[ould] take longer if Sales Agents experience[d] technical problems with the computer, software, and/or applications.” (Id. ¶ 77.) Tranzact “enforce[d] its policy of requiring all computer networks, programs[,] and applications to be open and ready at the commencement of a Sales Agents’ shift[] and . . . before the Sales Agents record[ed] [their] clock-in time[] through their performance metrics and adherence policies.”(Id. ¶ 64.) For instance, Tranzact “evaluated Sales Agents (in part) based on how closely their dialer time matched their time in the timekeeping system.” (Id. ¶ 65.) While Tranzact provided their “Sales Agents with a . . . [thirty] minute[] unpaid lunch break per shift[,] Tranzact “routinely require[d] Sales Agents to perform work during their unpaid lunch breaks” because Tranzact’s “policies and procedures require[d] Sales Agents to return from their lunch early to perform at least part of the boot up process.” (Id. ¶¶ 83, 85.) Many of the programs used by “Sales Agents . . . would automatically log [them] out of their computer systems if they remained idle for too long. This required Sales Agents to return from their lunches early to log back into programs that they were automatically logged out of during their lunch breaks.” (Id. ¶ 86.) Tranzact also “required Sales Agents to review emails with work instructions and special promotions before clocking back in and resuming calls.” (Id. ¶ 87.) Performing this meal-period work on most days took Sales Agents “approximately four . . . to five . . . minutes . . . during their

unpaid meal breaks.” (Id. ¶ 88.) Additionally, at the end of each shift, Tranzact required Sales Agents “to securely log out of the essential computer software programs and applications utilized during their shifts.” (Id. ¶ 90.) Tranzact also required Sales Agents “to complete call notes after clocking out at the end of their shifts.” (Id. ¶ 91.) Tranzact’s policies, training, and direction required Sales Agents to refrain from “begin[ning] the shutdown and logout process until their scheduled shift end[ed] and they complete[d] their last call.” (Id. ¶ 93.) “The shutdown and logout process (including the completion of call notes), requires another three . . . to five . . . minutes” of off-the-clock work per shift. (Id. ¶ 92.) Tranzact also required “Sales Agents to complete [uncompensated] training off-the-clock in order to maintain their employment with [Tranzact] but did not compensate Sales Agents for the

training time.” (Id. ¶¶ 72, 99.) McConnell “specifically objected to performing off-the-clock training without receiving payment of regular and overtime pay[] and was told that she would be terminated if she did not complete the training, and that it would not be compensated.” (Id.

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Bluebook (online)
Kimberly Dotson, Jennifer Connor, and Amanda McConnell, individually, and on behalf of others similarly situated v. TZ Insurance Solutions LLC d/b/a Tranzact, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kimberly-dotson-jennifer-connor-and-amanda-mcconnell-individually-and-njd-2026.