FedEx Home Delivery v. NLRB

Case Updates

The D.C. Circuit set aside a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that FedEx had unlawfully refused to bargain with the Teamsters Union. The court held that the NLRB improperly classified the FedEx truck drivers as ‘employees’ rather than ‘independent contractors,’ who are not subject to the National Labor Relations Act. The decision gives delivery companies the freedom to explore alternative contract arrangements that provide truckers with opportunities for entrepreneurial gain.

NCLC urged the D.C. Circuit to reject a decision by the National Labor Relations Board that ordered FedEx to recognize and bargain with the Teamsters union, based on an NLRB decision that the truckers in question should be classified as employees, not independent contractors. NCLC argued that, because the use of independent contractors in the trucking industry is mutually beneficial to trucking companies and to independent contractors, the opportunity for entrepreneurial gain by the truckers justifies the classification decision by FedEx. In this case, the independent truckers supplied or owned their own trucks, controlled the details of their contracted service work, and worked for profit rather than wages. Moreover, NCLC argued that work performance restrictions that are based on customer demands or on regulatory requirements are not indicative of an employment relationship.