California high court denies FedEx appeal in driver definition case

California high court denies FedEx appeal in driver definition case California’s Supreme Court on Wednesday denied an appeal by Memphis, Tenn.-based parcel carrier FedEx Corp seeking to overturn a state court ruling that found the firm's drivers are employees and not independent owner-operators.
   The original lawsuit, Estrada vs. FedEx Ground Package System Inc., involved 200 drivers who worked under contracts originally negotiated and agreed upon by FedEx’s predecessor company, Roadway Package System.
   In August, a California Court of Appeals also denied a FedEx appeal in the case, also finding that the FedEx Ground drivers were entitled to an additional $6 million in expenses above the original trial court assessed damages of about $5 million.
   The case now heads back to the state trial court for final rulings on the expense and damages entitled to the drivers.
   In October, an Indiana court granted class action status to FedEx drivers in more than 30 states making similar employee vs. contractor claims. FedEx maintains that the drivers are entrepreneurs, not employees.