FARGO (KFGO) – Dozens of lawsuits have been filed in U.S. District Court in North Dakota accusing the FedEx corporation of not paying out overtime to drivers that deliver its packages.
The 35 lawsuits claim that FedEx has violated the Fair Labor and Standards Act by creating a system that denies the drivers overtime pay. The suit alleges that FedEx works around paying drivers overtime by using a middle man company to hire the drivers as contractors, but the drivers say they typically worked full time exclusively for FedEx while wearing FedEx uniforms and driving FedEx trucks.
The suits allege that under various state wage laws, the drivers were actually FedEx employees and not independent contractors.
The drivers say because they worked more than 40 hours a week routinely, and should be classified as FedEx employees under state wage laws, FedEx is on the hook to pay the drivers for their lost overtime hours.
FedEx disputes the claims, maintaining that they are not responsible for the overtime wages.
“Plaintiffs are or were employees of Service Provider companies that contract with FedEx. We maintain that service providers are contractually and legally obligated to comply with all wage and hour laws as it relates to their employees. We look forward to addressing these issues in court.” The FedEx corporation told KFGO News.
The complaints were filed this week, 20 of them in the eastern district of North Dakota and 15 in the western district. They include plaintiffs that live in multiple states including North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The lawsuits are part of a nationwide series of litigation against FedEx led by Lichten and Liss-Riordan, a law firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The local representation for the 35 plaintiffs, Cassie Dwello of Five Valleys Law, based in Missoula, Montana, declined to comment to KFGO News.
The drivers are asking for a jury trial and seeking compensation for their allegedly unpaid overtime and legal fees.
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