Drivers sue FedEx over contractor status
Several delivery drivers filed a class-action lawsuit against FedEx Corp. Monday, alleging the company violates South Dakota law by treating drivers as independent contractors instead of employees.
The suit in South Dakota state court claims FedEx failed to reimburse the drivers for job-related expenses, and avoided paying workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance, said attorney Matthew Tobin, of the Sioux Falls firm Johnson, Heidepriem, Miner, Marlow and Janklow LLP.
“This lawsuit is about fundamental fairness, and the right of every employee in South Dakota to be reimbursed for their employment expenses, and to be treated in a manner consistent with the requirements of South Dakota law,” Tobin said in a statement.
FedEx Ground spokesman Perry Colosimo said he can’t comment on pending litigation.
But he said FedEx considers independent contractors small business owners and has used that business model since it started in 1985.
Colosimo said contractors have flexibility, drive and spirit not found in the traditional labor force. He said both FedEx and its contractors have benefited from that way of doing business.
