Ninth Cir. Says FedEx Drivers in Two States Are Employees, Not Independent Contractors

Some 2,300 package delivery drivers formerly working for FedEx in California were employees, rather than independent contractors, under state law based on evidence of the company’s right to control their work hours, routes, appearance and equipment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Aug. 27 (Alexander v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., 2014 BL 237668, 9th Cir., 12-17458, 8/27/14).

In a companion case stemming from the same multidistrict litigation, the Ninth Circuit also reversed a multidistrict court’s grant of summary judgment to FedEx after applying the right-to-control test to statutory claims by 363 drivers ...