State attorney generals complain about FedEx treatment of employees

In a previous blog, we reported on the FedEx policy of claiming that its employees are independent contractors, and then abusing them by forcing them to buy their delivery trucks, failing to pay for proper insurances and generally taking advantage of them in an illegal manner.  On June 25 the Attorney Generals of Montana and seven other states demanded that Fed Ex Ground properly classify their drivers and manage employment issues in accordance with employee protection laws. 

Currently, 30 states are investigating  FedEx Ground, according to the Chicago Tribune, and 45 class-action lawsuits have been filed against it, arising out of its classification of employees as independent "owner-operators."  The attorneys general "shared concerns about workers compensation violations, unemployment insurance breaches, violation of wage-and-hour laws and protection of worker civil rights.   

On April 21, 2009, a federal judge in Texas ruled that FedEx was within its rights to refuse to bargain with a union engaged by some FedEx drivers to negotiate their working conditions.  In total, about 13,000 FedEx drivers are affected by these policies.