Memphis contract drivers sue FedEx
FedEx delivery drivers argue in a federal lawsuit that the company so tightly controls their work they should be employees rather than independent contractors.
The U.S. District Court suit is similar to lawsuits filed by FedEx drivers or former drivers in other states accusing the company of denying them overtime pay, health insurance, workman’s compensation coverage and other benefits provided for company employees.
The Memphis suit, which seeks to represent more than 1,000 drivers in Tennessee, says that while they must buy their own trucks, FedEx regulates the smallest details on how they are used, maintained and even painted.
The drivers, wearing uniforms purchased from FedEx, are told what packages to deliver and when to deliver them, and they can be assigned deliveries off their regular routes any time the company desires, plaintiff’s lawyer Joree Brownlow said Wednesday.
“They are in fact treated like employees,” Brownlow said.
Eight Memphis-area drivers who filed the suit June 22 say they are denied the work independence enjoyed by private contractors as well as the employee protections provided by Tennessee law.
The drivers work for FedEx Ground, a division of FedEx Corp. headquartered in Pittsburgh. FedEx Corp., which also owns the world’s largest cargo airline, FedEx Express, has its main offices in Memphis.
Perry Colosimo, a spokesman for FedEx Ground, said using independent drivers for home and business deliveries has helped the company grow and allowed thousands of private contractors to create their own small businesses.
“We firmly believe they are independent business owners,” he said.
Colosimo declined to say how many lawsuits have been filed by FedEx drivers, but he said the company will fight the suits in court.
“We’ll continue to protect the rights of our independent business owners,” he said.
Arguments by the Memphis drivers are similar to those made by FedEx drivers and former drivers in lawsuits in California, Massachusetts, Minnesota and South Dakota.
Brownlow said the drivers have built a fleet of trucks for FedEx at their own expense.
“Each contractor has to purchase a truck to FedEx specifications which change almost constantly,” she said. “If you buy a truck and want to sell your route, oftentimes FedEx refuses to approve the sale because they want a different, newer truck.”
Shares of FedEx Corp. fell 42 cents to $82.58 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
