Jury Backs FedEx in Wash. Overtime Case

FedEx Corp. did not illegally deny overtime pay to contract delivery drivers who said the company wrongly called them entrepreneurs, a Seattle jury decided late Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.

More than 320 contract ground drivers at FedEx sued the company in a 2004 class-action lawsuit, demanding overtime at 1.5 times their regular pay, and also sought reimbursement for uniforms.

A FedEx spokeswoman said contractors “freely chose to enter contracts with FedEx and operate their businesses as they choose,” Bloomberg reported, while the drivers plan to appeal the verdict, their attorney said.

FedEx still faces a national class-action lawsuit over driver pay and lost a similar case in California last year. The Washington state court decision has no bearing on the federal case in South Bend, Ind., Bloomberg reported.

The federal case involves more than 30,000 former and current contractors, Bloomberg reported.

Contract drivers in the federal class action allege that because of the company’s control over them, they should be treated as full-time employees and receive regular workers’ benefits, Bloomberg said.

FedEx has denied the allegations and has asked U.S. District Judge Robert Miller in to dismiss the case, Bloomberg reported.

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