Federal Court Grants Class Certification In FedExGround/Home Delivery Case

South Bend, Indiana (October 15, 2007) - In a major development, Judge Robert Miller of U.S. District Court for Northern Indiana, today granted class certification on behalf of approximately 14,000 current FedEx Ground/Home Delivery drivers – as well as upwards of 10,000 former drivers - across the nation who are challenging the company’s embattled independent contractor model.


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I'm very interested in this case and how it will end up, and I'm hoping the drivers win. The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if (the person for whom the services are performed) has the right to control or direct only the result of the work, and not what will be done and how it will be done or method of accomplishing the result.

It is tough being labeled as an independent contractor. I have had 2 jobs where I was considered an independent contractor. One of them was doing new construction cleaning, and thinking about it, I should have been considered an employee, given the definition of employee. In my course of work, I was told what would be done and how it should be done, and their were certain methods we had to use. I wish I would have known taxes then. Between driving to far away job sites, buying our own supplies and gas, it actually cost a lot of money to have that job. I'm not sure how it is with the FedEx drivers, but it does seem they should be considered employees.

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