The Massachusetts attorney general’s office said FedEx Ground has agreed to pay the state $3 million to settle claims that FedEx allegedly misclassified its drivers as independent contractors.
Both the office of Attorney General Martha Coakley and FedEx Corp., parent company of FedEx Ground, agreed that FedEx denied any wrongdoing in the settlement.
They both said that the settlement did not affect an ongoing lawsuit filed by FedEx Ground drivers that they were misclassified as independent contractors.
“The agreement was reached to positively resolve disputed claims, as we remain focused on providing outstanding service to our customers throughout the state,” FedEx spokeswoman Maury Donahue told Transport Topics.
Coakley’s office said it would direct the payment both to the state’s general fund and to 13 FedEx Ground drivers it included in its citation but did not divulge how the money would be split.
The office alleged that “FedEx Ground’s failure to properly classify drivers had led the company to make lesser payments to the Commonwealth for payroll taxes, worker’s compensation and unemployment assistance.”
FedEx Corp. is ranked No. 2 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
