A new lawsuit has been filed against FedEx as part of an ongoing dispute between the company and some of its truck drivers. Thirty-one current and former truck drivers for FedEx filed a lawsuit against the company in a U.S. District Court in Boston last Tuesday. The lawsuit seeks class-action status and claims that the truck drivers are incorrectly classified as independent contractors when they really should be considered employees.
The truck drivers filing the lawsuit claim that they are considered independent contractors even though an employer-employee relationship exists between truck drivers and FedEx. FedEx controls what its drivers wear, sets the times they work, and monitors their performance and equipment, among other things. The drivers are seeking to be classified as employees so that they can become unionized as are their counterparts at rival parcel delivery company, UPS. The worker lawsuit is also seeking financial compensation.
As reported by Reuters, FedEx classifies its truck drivers as independent contractors in order to have a competitive advantage over UPS. Courts have already decided in favor of FedEx’s position in similar lawsuits brought against the company. Earlier in August, a district court judge in Indiana ruled against FedEx drivers in another class-action lawsuit. The judge said that even though FedEx had some control over the work and appearance of its drivers, it was not enough to prove the existence of an employer-employee relationship.
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UPDATE 2-Drivers sue FedEx over contractor status (Reuters)