Fed Ex Triumphs In JPMDL Class Actions As To Independent Contractor Classification Issues

A white hot area of focus for the plaintiffs' class action bar continues to be on alleged improper classification of workers as independent contractors. Hefty damages follow in these types of actions if plaintiffs can prove that they are, in effect, employees as should have been paid overtime.

On December 13, 2010, FedEx Ground Package secured a huge win in perhaps the largest independent contract multi-district litigation in the country involving 42 consolidated class actions known as In Re FedEx Ground Package System Inc. Employment Practices Litigation, Case No. 05-MD-527 (N.D. Ind. Dec. 13, 2010). FedEx won a key ruling defeating over 20 consolidated class actions asserting that its current and former drivers were misclassified as independent contractors. The 182 page ruling by Judge Robert Miller of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana threw out claims of drivers in 20 class actions in California, New York, New Jersey, and other states alleging the company misclassified their employment status and owed them back pay, overtime, and other damages. The Court also found that the drivers are independent contractors in 20 of the 28 remaining group lawsuits, and ruled in favor of FedEx on some claims in the other eight other class action cases. In three cases, the court ruled against FedEx on at least one claim.

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