(Washington, D.C.) – Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa on Tuesday praised a federal judge’s decision to grant class-action status to FedEx Ground drivers who say the company denied them benefits and proper wages.  

Judge Robert Miller of the U.S. District Court for Northern Indiana on Monday certified a class-action lawsuit brought by present and former FedEx Ground drivers.

FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) employs about 15,000 so-called "independent contractors" at its Ground and Home Delivery subsidiaries. The potential size of the class could be as many as 20,000 drivers depending on the time period still to be determined.

"FedEx is running out of places to hide," Hoffa said. "The FedEx Ground and Home Delivery drivers have carried on their fight for many years as the company has pulled out all the stops to defend their illegal model. Another judge has once again ruled against the FedEx arguments. The Teamsters applaud the drivers who are fighting for their rights and proper compensation."

This federal judge's ruling is the latest in a series of recent decisions that found FedEx Ground drivers to be employees and not independent contractors. 

In August, the California Court of Appeal upheld a lower court ruling that the drivers are employees and not independent contractors. FedEx responded in California by simply firing all the drivers who were the subject of the court rulings to limit future liabilities.  FedEx has appealed the Court of Appeal ruling to the California Supreme Court. 

In September, the National Labor Relations Board in Washington ordered FedEx to bargain with Teamsters Local Union 25 over the work conditions of two FedEx Home Delivery Facilities outside Boston. The NLRB earlier found these drivers to be employees rather than independent contractors and ordered an election. The drivers elected Local 25 as their bargaining representative. FedEx has refused to adhere to the NLRB order and appealed the NLRB rulings before the US Court of Appeal DC Circuit. 

"FedEx may be able to delay making these drivers employees, but the company is fighting a losing battle against a lot of authorities in a lot of places," said Teamsters International Vice President and Parcel Division Director Ken Hall. "FedEx is sticking to a very risky strategy. There are more and more angry drivers. The customers who will ship with FedEx this year for the holidays might not get the service they are paying for."

The recent rulings in the FedEx Ground multi-district litigation including the certification order can be found at http://www.fedexwatch.com/resources/content/fedex_ground_home_multi_district_litigation/