The U.S. Chamber is applauding a U.S. appeals court decision that certain FedEx delivery drivers should be classified as independent contractors, not employees. The ruling reaffirms that FedEx Corp. and its subsidiary were not acting illegally when they refused to recognize and bargain with the Teamsters Union.

The case arose out of a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board, which argued that the truckers working for FedEx Home Delivery should be classified as employees, not independent contractors.

The Chamber's National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC), a public policy law firm, supported FedEx, noting that the independent truckers in question supplied or owned their own trucks, controlled the details of their contracted service work, and worked for profit rather than wages. The case has broad ramifications on the use of independent contractors not just in the package delivery business, but also in the trucking industry and other sectors of the economy.

Read NCLC's amicus brief.