Tumulty vs FedEx Ground

The two named plaintiffs were temp drivers for a number of FedEx Ground multi-route contractors.  The two sued FedEx Ground, the staffing agency who placed them in the jobs and the multi-route contractors they drove for under Washington labor laws in King County Superior Court in 2003.   FedEx Ground argued that it did not have an employment relationship with the two plaintiffs since they were "employees" of the multi-route contractors. In March 2005, the judge issued a summary judgment that FedEx Ground was the joint employer of the plaintiffs under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Washington Minimum Wage Act.

The case was settled in Sept 2005. Almost immediately, FedEx appealed the summary judgment to the Ninth Circuit (USCA 05-36072) to reverse the summary judgement finding that FedEx Ground was the joint employer.