Hurst v. Buczek Enterprises is the case that started it all. Filed and settled in 2010, this was the first employee misclassification lawsuit in the mortgage field services industry to reach a successful resolution — establishing the legal precedent that the contractor model deployed by nationals and their regional subcontractors could not withstand judicial scrutiny under wage and hour law. Buczek Enterprises, a regional operator running field service work across multiple states, had built its business on the same misclassification architecture that the entire industry relied upon — classifying workers as independent contractors to avoid payroll taxes, overtime obligations, workers compensation, and benefits. The Hurst settlement cracked that foundation open. Every major misclassification case that followed — Bowerman, Vinson, the Assurant litigation, the MCS settlement — traces its legal lineage directly back to what was established here. For anyone tracking the W-2 versus W-9 battle that has defined labor relations in this industry for fifteen years, this is the document that opened the courthouse door.