Via America’s Lawyer: Mike Papantonio highlights class-action settlement victories by delivery drivers against FedEx for garnished wages and misclassification of their employment status.
Transcript of the above video:
Finally, tonight, good news for America’s delivery drivers. Earlier this month, a federal judge approved a $227 million payout for FedEx drivers in 19 states for the deceptive practice of classifying its drivers as independent contractors rather than full-time employees. The class action settlement covered 19 states across the U.S., and involves 12,000 drivers who had their wages unfairly garnished.
Until 2011, FedEx treated their drivers as independent contractors, despite the fact that most of these drivers were working full-time. This meant the company could pass along the costs of the truck, cost of the uniform, fuel, and insurance … pass it on directly to the driver. Not to mention, FedEx didn’t have to pay anything for health care benefits, unemployment insurance, or overtime pay.
Hopefully, this decision will serve as a warning to other companies like Uber, or maybe, Lyft, that if they continue to treat their full-time workers as independent contractors, they might expect a flurry of expensive lawsuits.
