Sonic Air vs California Employment Development Dept.

This case of UPS subsidiary Sonic Air vs California EDD is demonstrative of the California legal process for employers found to wrongly classify its employees as "independent contractors." The Sonic Air tax case is a predecessor to the FedEx Ground vs. California EDD case.  The Sonic Air case started earlier than the FedEx Ground case and shows the possible outcome of EDD succeeding in defending its audits that found FedEx Ground single-vehicle drivers to be employees.

Sonic Air first took its appeal of the EDD audit to the two levels of appeal at the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.  (As of May 2007, FedEx Ground is presently in the second appeal before the CUIAB in its challenge of the EDD audit ).  The CUIAB backed the EDD determination in both appeals.  Then Sonic Air appealed to the Sacramento County Superior Court.  The Superior Court judge also backed the EDD determination; the final judgment is posted here.  Then Sonic Air appealed to the California Court of Appeals; on May 14, 2007 the Court of Appeals published its decision supporting the EDD determination.

As of May 2007, Sonic Air has not yet acted on its last possible step: appeal to the California Supreme Court.