Alexander v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
765 F.3d 981 (9th Cir. 2014)
Dean Alexander and roughly 2,300 other full-time delivery drivers for FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery in California between 2000 and 2007 (plaintiffs) sued FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. (defendant), claiming they had been misclassified as independent contractors and were owed unpaid wages and business expenses under the California Labor Code. Each driver signed an Operating Agreement stating that the manner and means of meeting FedEx's business objectives were within the driver's discretion, but FedEx set drivers' appearance and grooming standards, required FedEx-approved vehicles built to FedEx's specifications, dictated delivery windows and customer-service standards, and permitted managers to conduct ride-along evaluations. FedEx removed the case to federal court, and it was consolidated with similar suits from about 40 other states into multidistrict litigation. The MDL court granted summary judgment for FedEx, concluding the drivers were independent contractors as a matter of law, and after the drivers' remaining federal claims were resolved, they appealed the employment-status ruling to the Ninth Circuit.
Whether FedEx Ground delivery drivers are employees or independent contractors under California's right-to-control test, given FedEx's authority under its Operating Agreement to control significant aspects of how the drivers perform their deliveries.