By Maria Armental
FedEx Corp. (FDX) on Wednesday said it intends to appeal the
decision of a three-judge federal panel that found drivers the
company had classified as independent contractors were
employees.
The appeal, which would next be heard by the full U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, stems from lawsuits originally filed
in California involving about 2,300 full-time delivery drivers for
FedEx in that state between 2000 and 2007 and two suits filed in
Oregon involving 363 individuals who were full-time delivery
drivers between 1999 and 2009.
"We fundamentally disagree with these rulings, which run counter
to more than 100 state and federal findings--including the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit--upholding our contractual
relationships with thousands of independent businesses," FedEx
Ground Senior Vice President and General Counsel Cary Blancett said
in a statement.
Judge William A. Fletcher wrote in the three-judge panel's
decision that FedEx Ground contracts with drivers who must wear
FedEx uniforms, drive FedEx-approved vehicles and groom themselves
according to FedEx's appearance standards to deliver packages to
its customers.
"FedEx tells its drivers what packages to deliver, on what days,
and at what times," he said. "Although drivers may operate multiple
delivery routes and hire third parties to help perform their work,
they may do so only with FedEx's consent."
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
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