The New York Attorney General’s office announced last week it has settled an IC misclassification case with FedEx for $2 million.
The now-former attorney general of New York, Barbara D. Underwood, announced on Dec. 20 a $2 million settlement with FedEx in an independent contractor misclassification case dating back to October 2010.
The state alleged around 500 drivers for FedEx Ground and its division, FedEx Home Delivery, had been unlawfully misclassified as independent contractors. The state sought restitution for violations of New York Labor Law, including unpaid overtime and unlawful deductions from wages.
“Companies cannot misclassify employees in order to dodge their legal obligations – period,” said Underwood, who remains New York’s Solicitor General. “We will continue to hold accountable employers who fail to pay workers the wages they’re owed under the law.” The state’s new attorney general, Letitia James, was sworn in Tuesday.
The New York Attorney General’s office has recovered more than $33 million in wages for 22,000 workers across New York since 2011.
The settlement fund will be distributed to two classes of affected FedEx drivers:
- One class covers unpaid overtime claims for current and former FedEx Ground and FedEx Home drivers who entered into an operating agreement with FedEx on or after Aug. 10, 2005, provided services to FedEx Ground up to September 2016, and drove over 40 hours in a week.
- The second class covers unlawful deductions claims for current and former FedEx Ground and FedEx Home drivers who entered into an operating agreement with FedEx Ground between Oct. 15, 2007, and Sept. 11, 2009, and provided services to FedEx Ground up to September 2016.