Calif. Court Rules Against FedEx in Drivers’ Case

The California Supreme Court Thursday rejected a bid by FedEx Corp. to reverse a verdict making its independent contractor drivers full-time employees, Bloomberg reported.

The ruling late Wednesday rejected the company’s claim that the trial and appeals courts erred in deciding that the company’s FedEx Ground unit’s workers should be accorded full-time status, Bloomberg said.

FedEx must pay the drivers $11.3 million in damages for expenses such as truck purchases, gas and uniforms, according to Lynn Faris, a lawyer representing the drivers, Bloomberg reported.

More than 200 drivers sued FedEx in state court in Los Angeles, claiming the company treats independent contractors like full- time employees while denying them full pay and benefits.

The case has a “binding effect” on four similar federal cases combined with claims from 36 states pending before U.S. District Judge Robert Miller in South Bend, Ind., Faris told Bloomberg.

But FedEx spokesman Maury Lane denied that, saying that any further dispensation of the case is speculation that must still be determined in the Indiana court, Bloomberg reported.

FedEx Corp. is ranked No. 2 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.