Updated October 2026. General information, not legal advice.
In 2026 the fight over FedEx Ground drivers' overtime split into thousands of separate lawsuits. Drivers who were paid by independent service providers (ISPs) are suing FedEx, arguing it's their joint employer. FedEx's response, in its own words: "We maintain that Service Providers are contractually and legally obligated to comply with all wage and hour laws as it relates to their employees."
Whatever courts decide about FedEx, the ISP is the W-2 employer. Its timecards, pay plans and vehicle logs are what these cases turn on. Below is what happened this year, and the records checklist every ISP should run now.
What happened in 2026
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| May 18, 2026 | In the Western District of Pennsylvania, Judge Robert J. Colville severed the claims of more than 14,000 drivers in three mass actions, Brannon, Abner and Smith v. Federal Express Corp. They grew out of an earlier case with more than 30,000 opt-ins. Drivers got a 60-day tolling period to refile individually. |
| Summer–fall 2026 | Individual suits were refiled in federal courts around the country. Reports put the total at more than 10,000 drivers. |
| Sept. 29–30, 2026 | 64 drivers filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. |
| Early Oct. 2026 | About 90 individual complaints were reported in the Western District of Michigan. |
The court found the drivers' claims don't arise from the same transaction or occurrence, and that trying thousands of individual claims together would be "patently untenable." That's why each driver's case now stands on its own facts: hours, pay plan, vehicle and records.
The core allegation is the same everywhere. Drivers say they regularly worked more than 40 hours a week without overtime pay, and that FedEx controlled their work closely enough to be their joint employer.
Why it lands on ISPs even if FedEx wins
- You're the employer of record. The joint-employer theory tries to add FedEx as a responsible employer. It doesn't remove the ISP, and FLSA overtime obligations run to whoever employs the driver.
- FedEx's defense points at you. A defense built on service providers being "obligated to comply" depends on ISP compliance and on ISP records.
- The exposure is real. FLSA claims reach back two years, or three if the violation was willful. A driver who wins recovers the unpaid overtime plus an equal amount in liquidated damages, plus attorney's fees.
- This isn't new. FedEx paid $228 million in California in 2015 and $240 million across 20 states in 2016 to settle earlier driver-classification cases. Those cases are the backdrop for today's ISP model.
Washington is also revisiting joint-employer rules, but none of that changes the basic point. If your drivers work more than 40 hours in a week the FLSA covers, you owe the overtime premium, and you need records that prove you paid it.
The ISP records checklist
Federal rules (29 CFR 516.2 (opens in new tab)) list what an employer must keep for every non-exempt employee. For FedEx routes, these are the records that decide overtime cases:
- Daily start and stop times and total hours. Record actual hours, including pre-trip inspection, loading at the station and waiting for freight, not the route plan. Keep the day and time your workweek starts on file too.
- DOT time records that match payroll. If your drivers of vehicles over 10,000 lbs use the short-haul exception, DOT rules require you to record when each driver reports for duty, total on-duty hours and release time, and to keep those records for six months (49 CFR 395.1(e) (opens in new tab)). If they don't match your timecards, a plaintiff's lawyer will find it.
- A written pay plan for every driver. Whether it's a day rate, per-stop, hourly or back-into rate, put it in writing, get the driver's acknowledgment, and note the effective date.
- A weekly regular-rate calculation. Show straight-time earnings and the overtime premium separately, and include every nondiscretionary bonus in the regular rate.
- A vehicle log with GVWR for every driver and day. This is what supports a Motor Carrier Act exemption for step-van weeks. It also shows which weeks the small vehicle exception made overtime-eligible. A week in a vehicle you can't identify is a week you can't defend.
- Every addition and deduction, with dates. Uniform, damage and equipment deductions can't cut into minimum wage or overtime (29 CFR 531.35 (opens in new tab)).
- Total wages, pay date and pay period for every check.
- Pay disputes and corrections. When a driver says their hours were short, record what you checked and what you paid.
- Scanner and telematics reconciliation. First and last scans and GPS data are records too. If timecards show 9 hours and scans show 11, fix it now rather than in a deposition.
- Your 2026 code TT numbers. The qualified overtime you report on 2026 W-2s should match your exemption decisions week by week. See Do FedEx drivers qualify for no tax on overtime?
How long to keep them
| Record | Federal minimum |
|---|---|
| Payroll records (the 29 CFR 516.2 items) | 3 years (29 CFR 516.5 (opens in new tab)) |
| Timecards with daily start and stop times, rate tables, deduction records | 2 years (29 CFR 516.6 (opens in new tab)) |
| DOT short-haul time records | 6 months |
Those are minimums, and they don't line up with the risk. FLSA claims can reach back three years for willful violations, and some state laws go back further. If you keep hours evidence for only six months or two years, the years a plaintiff cares about are undocumented. Keep timecards and DOT time records at least as long as payroll, and longer in states with longer look-back periods.
Five pay practices these cases put under a microscope
- A flat day rate with no overtime premium in weeks over 40 hours that the FLSA covers. Under 29 CFR 778.112 (opens in new tab), a day-rate driver is owed extra half-time pay for every hour over 40.
- "The day rate covers everything" with no hours tracked. Without hours you can't calculate a regular rate, or prove you paid one.
- Unpaid station time: pre-trip inspections, loading, waiting for late trailers.
- Bonuses left out of the regular rate. A 6th day bonus or performance bonus with set criteria raises the regular rate, and with it the overtime premium.
- Treating mixed-fleet drivers as exempt all year. One day in a cargo van rated 10,000 lbs or less makes that week overtime-eligible.
Our FedEx ISP overtime rules guide covers each of these in more detail.
If a records request or demand letter arrives
- Preserve everything: timecards, scanner exports, vehicle logs, and texts about schedules. Don't edit or "clean up" records after a claim arrives.
- Call an employment attorney before you respond, and go over the compliance and indemnification terms in your service provider agreement together.
- Run the numbers. Recompute the regular rate and premium for the weeks in question. If you owe money, counsel can tell you the cleanest way to pay it.
- Fix the process going forward so the next 12 months of records are clean.
Frequently asked questions
Are ISPs being sued in the 2026 FedEx overtime cases?
The 2026 filings described in news reports name FedEx and argue it's a joint employer of drivers paid by service providers. ISPs are still the drivers' W-2 employer, FedEx says compliance is the service providers' obligation, and ISP records are central evidence either way.
How far back can a driver claim unpaid overtime?
Under the FLSA, two years, or three if the violation was willful. A driver who wins also recovers an equal amount in liquidated damages plus attorney's fees. State laws can add more.
Does a day rate include overtime?
Not under federal law. A day rate pays straight time for all hours worked. For hours over 40 in an overtime-eligible week, the driver is owed an extra half of the regular rate.
Are step-van drivers owed overtime?
Usually not in weeks spent only in vehicles rated over 10,000 lbs GVWR, because of the Motor Carrier Act exemption. Any week that includes a vehicle rated 10,000 lbs or less is different, and you need a vehicle log to prove which weeks were which.
Sources
- Duane Morris Class Action Defense Blog, Pennsylvania federal court delivers misjoinder blow to FedEx drivers' wage-and-hour mass actions (opens in new tab) (May 27, 2026)
- Hoodline, 64 Nevada FedEx drivers join 10,000-plus overtime lawsuit wave (opens in new tab) (October 2026)
- WOOD TV, FedEx sued over allegations of unpaid overtime (opens in new tab) (October 2, 2026)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #19: The Motor Carrier Exemption under the FLSA (opens in new tab)
- 29 CFR 516.2 (opens in new tab), 29 CFR 516.6 (opens in new tab), 29 CFR 778.112 (opens in new tab) and 49 CFR 395.1 (opens in new tab)
Make your records the strongest part of your defense
FleetWage stores each driver's pay rules and calculates the regular rate and overtime premium every week from stops, hours, day rates and bonuses. It exports overtime-compliant payroll to ADP, Gusto, Paychex and other providers. Book a demo, or try the free overtime calculator.
This article is general information, not legal advice. If you've received a claim or a records request, talk to an employment attorney.