FedEx Drivers Now Considered Employees After Legal Battle

In 2014, the biggest labor law ruling of the decade hit FedEx and changed their entire business model. FedEx always classified their drivers as independent contractors to avoid the financial responsibilities that come with having employees. The class action lawsuit filed by their drivers led to a several year legal battle that finally resulted in a victory. The judge in the case ruled that the drivers had been misclassified as independent contractors, and they were actually employees under the law.

The class action lawsuit was important because of the size of FedEx and because of the important distinctions between independent contractors and employees. Being an independent contractor provided the drivers with more autonomy to decide on their work hours and routes, but came with a lot more financial responsibilities for the drivers. New York City employee rights attorneys say that the drivers were not reimbursed for their business expenses, paid overtime or even guaranteed to earn a minimum wage.

Now that the court has ordered that FedEx had misclassified their employees as independent contractors, they have to pay their employees for the back wages that they are owed. This amounts to tens of millions of dollars that the company must pay to their drivers. NYC driver’s rights attorneys are helping these drivers make sure that they recover the compensation due to them. Both past and present employees are entitled to recover damages.

FedEx is one of the largest corporations in the country. The misclassified drivers can finally receive the compensation they deserve. If it took decades for them to get caught violating state and federal labor laws, there is no telling how many other employers are operating outside of the law as well. One thing is for sure, this will not be the last major class action lawsuit that puts a group of misclassified employees against a major corporation that has treated them improperly.

If you have concerns about abuses in the workplace, the New York employee misclassification attorneys at Hepworth, Gerhsbaum & Roth, PLLC offer free initial consultations. To schedule an appointment, call 212-545-1199 or contact online.