Court Rules That FedEx Employees Are FedEx Employees — Why This Matters

[unhappycamper]

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/dave-johnson/57950/court-rules-that-fedex-employees-are-fedex-employees-why-this-matters

Court Rules That FedEx Employees Are FedEx Employees — Why This Matters
Corporate America | Worker's Rights
by Dave Johnson | August 29, 2014 - 8:35am

You know all those people who work for FedEx? A court has ruled that they work for FedEx!

FedEx, like so many other companies, has been shifting costs onto employees by pretending they are not employees. This is called “misclassification” and this ruling matters.

FedEx has been pretending that their employees are “independent contractors” even though they are FedEx employees. Just in time for Labor Day, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that FedEx’s employees (in California and Oregon, and likely many states with similar employee-protection laws) are FedEx’s employees, ruling that, “… we hold that plaintiffs are employees as a matter of law.”

This ruling matters because actual employees have certain rights and benefits that contractors do not have. These rights include,

Overtime pay.
Employer contributions to Social Security and Medicare. (Contractors pay double.)
Can collect unemployment benefits when laid off.
Sick pay and family Leave.
Workers compensation coverage.

[underpants]

1. Very good news

[Gothmog]

2. This is a significant legal ruling

the concept that Fed Ex employees were not really employees was weak I am glad that the govt. is looking at independent contractors

[CanonRay]

3. This ought to pretty much blow up the current Fed Ex business model

Back to the drawing board! You actually have to pay these people.

[elleng]

4. And a lot of others.

Interesting to see how this carries over to others.