Slayman, et al v. FedEx Ground Package System, No. 12-35525 (9th Cir. 2014)
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Named plaintiffs, former FedEx drivers, represented two classes of plaintiffs comprising approximately 363 individuals who were full-time delivery drivers for FedEx in Oregon at any time between 1999 and 2009. Plaintiff class members worked for FedEx's two operating divisions, FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery. FedEx contended its drivers were independent contractors under Oregon law. Plaintiffs contended they were employees. In a consolidated appeal, plaintiffs claimed that "FedEx improperly classified its drivers as independent contractors, thereby forcing them to incur business expenses and depriving them of benefits otherwise owed to employees" under Oregon law. The Ninth Circuit agreed with plaintiffs, and reversed the Multidistrict Litigation Court's grant of summary judgment to FedEx Ground, its denial of plaintiff FedEx drivers' motion for partial summary judgment, and its certification of plaintiffs' classes insofar as they sought prospective relief.
Court Description: Oregon Law. The panel reversed the Multidistrict Litigation Court’s grant of summary judgment to FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., its denial of plaintiff FedEx drivers’ motion for partial summary judgment, and its certification of plaintiffs’ classes insofar as they sought prospective relief in two class actions alleging that FedEx drivers in Oregon were employees rather than independent contractors. The panel held under Oregon law that plaintiff FedEx drivers were employees as a matter of law under both the right-to-control and economic-realities tests. The panel remanded to the district court with instructions to enter summary judgment for plaintiffs on the question of employment status. The panel also held that one of the classes lacked Article III standing to seek prospective relief, and the other class’s claims for prospective relief became moot before the Multidistrict Litigation Court certified the class.
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