Originally published on August 29, 2014, at NationofChange.org
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that FedEx Corp. misclassified their employees as independent contractors to evade paying benefits. By classifying their drivers as independent contractors, FedEx unlawfully subjected their employees to repeated labor and wage violations. Seeking a rehearing by the entire Ninth Circuit, FedEx wishes to avoid potentially paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages, damages, and attorneys’ fees.
In the case known as Alexander v. FedEx Ground, a panel of federal judges determined that over 2,300 FedEx drivers in California and Oregon had been deprived of employee status and benefits. According to court documents, FedEx drivers were required to pay for their FedEx branded trucks, uniforms, insurance, fuel, tires, oil changes, maintenance, workers’ compensation coverage, and the wages of employees covering their shifts during vacations and sick days. The drivers were even forced to rent the scanners that record their deliveries and ended up trapped with expensive long-term leases on their FedEx branded trucks.
“We have heard of many instances where the secondary drivers are earning such low wages that they have to rely on public assistance to make ends meet,” stated the plaintiffs’ attorney Beth Ross. “Nationally, thousands of FedEx Ground drivers must pay for the privilege of working for FedEx 55 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. Today, these workers were granted rights and benefits entitled to employees under California law. To be clear, the Ninth Circuit exposed FedEx Ground’s independent contractor model as unlawful.”
andrewemett 