The Kansas Supreme Court Friday ruled that FedEx Ground drivers in that state are employees and not independent contractors as the company said.
The ruling was in response to a request for guidance from the Seventh Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago. The appeals court has been considering 21 appealed decisions in lawsuits that said FedEx Ground incorrectly treated drivers as independent contractors.
In a statement Friday Fedex ground said it disagreed with the.
In it decision, the Kansas Supreme Court said drivers were employees because FedEx Ground exercised significant control over them.
While the Kansas court’s ruling does not decide the outcome of the other suits under consideration by the Seventh Circuit, the answer means they can now move ahead.
Drivers are seeking overtime and unpaid expenses.
The Kansas decision comes shortly after one by the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, in which the court overturned the 2010 ruling by the Indiana judge and found that FedEx’s drivers in California and Oregon are employees.
