Court Says FedEx Drivers Can Sue for Status; Company Plans To Appeal

A federal judge ruled Monday that FedEx Corp.’s independent drivers can sue as a group for benefits sought in a lawsuit filed by workers claiming they should be paid as full-time employees, Bloomberg reported.

U.S. District Judge Robert Miller in South Bend, Ind., ruled the drivers could proceed with a class action suit against the company on claims that they deserve full-time benefits under federal law, Bloomberg reported.

FedEx said in a statement that its FedEx Ground package unit would appeal, saying it “plans to seek prompt review of this decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.”

FedEx said the decision would not affect FedEx Ground’s service, and said that in a separate order the court denied the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in a California action that was also pending as a part of the same multi-district proceeding.

While the ruling did not address the claims’ merits, the plaintiffs’ attorneys said the class consisted of more than 20,000 past and present FedEx contractors, Bloomberg reported.

FedEx Corp. is ranked No. 2 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.