FedEx faces wage and hour lawsuits from delivery drivers

By Top Class Actions | September 10, 2026

Category: Labor & Employment

(Photo Credit: ssi77/Shuttertsock)

FedEx lawsuits overview:

Who: Seven delivery drivers filed separate lawsuits against Federal Express Corp, successor by merger to FedEx Ground Package System Inc.
Why: The plaintiffs claim FedEx failed to pay overtime for hours worked beyond 40 per week despite exercising day-to-day control over their work.
Where: Six wage and hour lawsuits were filed in Michigan federal court, and one was filed in New York federal court.
How to get help: Were you not properly paid for all hours worked? You may qualify to seek unpaid wages or back pay through this California wage and hour lawsuit investigation.

A group of delivery drivers filed lawsuits against FedEx, alleging the company denied them overtime pay despite treating them as though they were direct employees.

Each of the seven FedEx lawsuits, all filed on Sept. 4 in Michigan and New York federal courts, brings a single claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

The plaintiffs claim they worked as delivery drivers for FedEx but were paid through intermediary companies that FedEx calls “independent service providers” or ISPs.

According to the lawsuits, FedEx requires its ISPs to hire and classify the drivers as the ISPs’ own employees, even though FedEx allegedly sets delivery schedules, requires drivers to wear FedEx uniforms, and dictates exactly how packages are picked up, scanned and delivered.

The FedEx wage and hour lawsuits accuse the company of structuring its business specifically to avoid overtime liability.

“FedEx has avoided its responsibilities under the FLSA by establishing a system through which FedEx employs drivers who are paid by intermediary ISPs,” the complaints claim, further alleging that “FedEx knew, or should have known, that [the] plaintiff and other drivers were not paid overtime that they were owed. FedEx has thus acted with reckless disregard for the plaintiff’s rights.”

The drivers claim they regularly worked more than 40 hours per week, often exceeding eight hours a day once time spent loading, scanning and unloading packages at FedEx terminals is factored in, but were never paid time-and-a-half for the extra hours.

Each of the FedEx lawsuits seeks restitution for unpaid overtime, liquidated damages, prejudgment interest and attorneys’ fees, and each plaintiff has demanded a jury trial.

Court order forced drivers to refile FedEx claims as individual lawsuits

The FedEx lawsuits claim the drivers originally opted into a nationwide collective action against FedEx that was conditionally certified before later being voluntarily decertified.

After decertification, the drivers pursued their claims through two separate mass actions filed in Pennsylvania federal court. A judge overseeing that litigation ordered in May 2026 that the drivers’ claims be severed from the mass actions, directing them to refile as individual lawsuits within 60 days so their claims would not be time-barred.

The refiling deadline was paused while the parties attempted mediation. Once mediation failed to resolve the claims, the drivers proceeded to file the seven individual lawsuits now pending in Michigan and New York federal courts, all represented by the same law firm.

Fedex, Kroger, UPS and Home Depot are all facing lawsuits for allegedly not paying employees for mandatory security screening time each shift.

Have you ever worked as a FedEx delivery driver and gone unpaid for overtime? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Shannon Liss-Riordan and Bradley Manewith of Lichten & Liss-Riordan P.C.

The FedEx wage and hour lawsuits are Case No. 2:26-cv-13241-TGB-EAS, 1:26-cv-13245-MAG-PTM, 2:26-cv-13272-JEL-APP, 5:26-cv-13247-SDK-EAS, 2:26-cv-13254-JEL-CI and 1:26-cv-13258-BRM-PTM, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and Case No. 1:26-cv-07614, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.