hoosierchef
- 931
I just ran accross this article in the Inside Indiana Business Newsletter. Be sure to thank your driver next time you see him or her. Apparently FedEx doesn't care for it's workers the way Pampered Chef does!
Federal Judge to Consider Certifying FedEx Class Action Lawsuits
InsideIndianaBusiness.com Report
3/13/2007 12:14:56 PM
Lawyers for thousands of current and former FedEx Ground/Home delivery drivers are asking a federal judge to certify nationwide and state class action lawsuits alleging the misclassification of drivers as independent contractors. Indiana is one of those ten states and the federal class action suit is being litigated in U.S. District Court in South Bend.
FedEx Ground Managing Director of Communications Perry Colosimo said in a statement to Inside INdiana Business, "Once again Plaintiff Attorney Lynn Faris is attempting to try this case in the media. The facts of the case still have not been heard, the motions are predictable, and the allegations remain just that. It is our hope that this case will be decided in the courtroom instead of through repackaged press releases foisted on local and national media."
Source: Inside INdiana Business
Press Release
SOUTH BEND, Ind., March 13 -- Lawyers for current and former FedEx Ground/Home delivery drivers nationwide have filed motions to certify two nationwide classes and 10 statewide classes in the Multi-District Litigation challenging FedEx's illegal classification of its drivers as independent contractors -- rather than employees -- which allowed it to compete as the "low-cost" leader with virtually all of its operating expenses foisted on the drivers, according to the briefs in support of the motions.
Lynn Rossman Faris, Esq., co-lead counsel based in Oakland, California, said the first wave of cases submitted for class certification follow the taking of more than 200 depositions, over 1200 hours worth, including that of Daniel Sullivan, the Founder and former CEO of FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., also known as FedEx Ground/Home Delivery, a unit of Federal Express (NYSE: FDX), the current CEO, David Rebholz, the current Executive Vice Present, Rodger Marticke and most of the top executives of the company. The briefs and motions were filed last Friday.
The nationwide classes the plaintiffs are seeking to certify include all current and former drivers who have been deprived of their legal rights under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and deprived of all medical and pension and other benefits given to all other FedEx employees. In addition, they are asking certification of statewide classes citing a variety of violations of state law in the following 10 states: California, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and South Dakota. Plaintiffs will file similar class certification motions in at least 20 other states in the coming weeks.
"This is a major milestone in a landmark case involving the blatant misuse of independent contractor status to deprive FedEx Ground delivery drivers of their legal rights and to permit the exploitation of these workers who believed FedEx's claim that they would be business partners with the multi- billion dollar company," explained Faris. She said the first set of cases filed is representative of a cross section of all the suits because they clearly meet or exceed the standards for class certification.
At the heart of the lawsuits is a challenge to FedEx's right to call its 14,000 drivers "independent contractors," while dictating to them every aspect of how to pick up and deliver packages, what to wear, what time to arrive at the customers' door, and virtually every aspect of their daily work lives. This absolute control over the drivers -- who signed on because they were told they'd be their own boss -- strictly governs the type of truck they drive, the uniform they wear, the package scanner they use, the route they drive and the hours they work. And, as part of what the suit contends is actually a employer-employee relationship, the drivers are also required to pay a host of the company's expenses, including fuel, insurance, and their medical insurance (if they have any).
The lawsuits are seeking to have the former and current class members reimbursed all the expenses -- including wage and other employment-related taxes -- they've been forced to pay as a result of being misclassified, a liability that experts estimate could approach $1 billion.
For more information, visit http://www.fedexdriverslawsuit.com/.
Source: Lynn Rossman Faris, Esq.
InsideIndianaBusiness.com Report
3/13/2007 12:14:56 PM
Lawyers for thousands of current and former FedEx Ground/Home delivery drivers are asking a federal judge to certify nationwide and state class action lawsuits alleging the misclassification of drivers as independent contractors. Indiana is one of those ten states and the federal class action suit is being litigated in U.S. District Court in South Bend.
FedEx Ground Managing Director of Communications Perry Colosimo said in a statement to Inside INdiana Business, "Once again Plaintiff Attorney Lynn Faris is attempting to try this case in the media. The facts of the case still have not been heard, the motions are predictable, and the allegations remain just that. It is our hope that this case will be decided in the courtroom instead of through repackaged press releases foisted on local and national media."
Source: Inside INdiana Business
Press Release
SOUTH BEND, Ind., March 13 -- Lawyers for current and former FedEx Ground/Home delivery drivers nationwide have filed motions to certify two nationwide classes and 10 statewide classes in the Multi-District Litigation challenging FedEx's illegal classification of its drivers as independent contractors -- rather than employees -- which allowed it to compete as the "low-cost" leader with virtually all of its operating expenses foisted on the drivers, according to the briefs in support of the motions.
Lynn Rossman Faris, Esq., co-lead counsel based in Oakland, California, said the first wave of cases submitted for class certification follow the taking of more than 200 depositions, over 1200 hours worth, including that of Daniel Sullivan, the Founder and former CEO of FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., also known as FedEx Ground/Home Delivery, a unit of Federal Express (NYSE: FDX), the current CEO, David Rebholz, the current Executive Vice Present, Rodger Marticke and most of the top executives of the company. The briefs and motions were filed last Friday.
The nationwide classes the plaintiffs are seeking to certify include all current and former drivers who have been deprived of their legal rights under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and deprived of all medical and pension and other benefits given to all other FedEx employees. In addition, they are asking certification of statewide classes citing a variety of violations of state law in the following 10 states: California, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and South Dakota. Plaintiffs will file similar class certification motions in at least 20 other states in the coming weeks.
"This is a major milestone in a landmark case involving the blatant misuse of independent contractor status to deprive FedEx Ground delivery drivers of their legal rights and to permit the exploitation of these workers who believed FedEx's claim that they would be business partners with the multi- billion dollar company," explained Faris. She said the first set of cases filed is representative of a cross section of all the suits because they clearly meet or exceed the standards for class certification.
At the heart of the lawsuits is a challenge to FedEx's right to call its 14,000 drivers "independent contractors," while dictating to them every aspect of how to pick up and deliver packages, what to wear, what time to arrive at the customers' door, and virtually every aspect of their daily work lives. This absolute control over the drivers -- who signed on because they were told they'd be their own boss -- strictly governs the type of truck they drive, the uniform they wear, the package scanner they use, the route they drive and the hours they work. And, as part of what the suit contends is actually a employer-employee relationship, the drivers are also required to pay a host of the company's expenses, including fuel, insurance, and their medical insurance (if they have any).
The lawsuits are seeking to have the former and current class members reimbursed all the expenses -- including wage and other employment-related taxes -- they've been forced to pay as a result of being misclassified, a liability that experts estimate could approach $1 billion.
For more information, visit http://www.fedexdriverslawsuit.com/.
Source: Lynn Rossman Faris, Esq.
