Craig v. Fedex Ground Package System, Inc.

686 F. 3d 423 (7th Cir. 2012)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Ps are current and former drivers for D who allege that they were employees rather than independent contractors under the laws of the states in which they worked and under federal law. The Judicial Panel consolidated these actions and transferred them to the Northern District of Indiana. The court used the P case, which was based on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and Kansas law, as its 'lead' case. The court certified a nationwide class seeking relief under ERISA and certified statewide classes under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 23(b)(3). The Kansas class has 479 members. They allege that they were improperly classified as independent contractors rather than employees under the Kansas Wage Payment Act (KWPA). The parties moved for summary judgment. The evidence was a stipulated record revolving around a form Operating Agreement D entered with each of the class members and certain D work practices. The district court granted D summary judgment. The court then drew on its decision and ruled in D's favor on all the lawsuits. Twenty-one cases are on appeal. Each case arises under a different state's substantive law. The appeals court addressed just the P appeal.