Lawyers for FedEx drivers laud federal appeals court ruling in class certification

The Trucker Staff

1/24/2008

SAN FRANCISCO — Lawyers for FedEx Ground/Home Delivery drivers who have been classified as independent contractors instead of employees hailed on Wednesday a court decision not to hear an appeal of the class certification granted by the U.S. District Court in Indiana.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit on Tuesday rejected FedEx’s request to review the nationwide class certification. The drivers are calling for employee benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and other state claims, said Lynn Rossman, lead counsel for the drivers in their nationwide class action.

“This is the latest in a string of major legal setbacks for FedEx,” commented Faris. “We now look forward to the District Court issuing the class certification decisions in the remaining lawsuits. The 7th Circuit decision also means the cases can move forward without the delay an appeal would have created. We are one step closer to justice for the tens of thousands of misclassified FedEx drivers.”

She noted that the Internal Revenue Service recently ordered FedEx to pay back taxes and penalties of $319 million for a single year, after finding that FedEx misclassified drivers as contractors instead of employees. The total financial liability FedEx faces in the IRS case has been estimated by stock analysts at between $1 billion and $2.5 billion, according to the drivers’ attorneys. That amount does not include what FedEx owes its drivers for expenses, improper deductions from wages and overtime,  the statement added.

In a statement of its own, FedEx said the court did not rule on the validity of the contractor model and has not decided class certification in any other multi-district litigation case. Likewise, FedEx Ground will continue to vigorously defend the MDL.

“This procedural ruling does not change any aspect of the FedEx Ground operation and we will continue to provide the world-class service our customers have come to expect,” the FedEx statement said.