Federal Express has agreed to pay approximately $27,000,000 to 200 drivers in California. Employment Law 360 reports that this settlement of a lawsuit started approximately 10 years ago, could set the stage for similar settlements in states across the country, including Connecticut. These suits allege that the drivers should have been classified as employees but instead were illegally classified as independent contractors. The average driver will get approximately $70,000, says Lynn Rossman Faris, counsel for the plaintiffs. In Connecticut, a similar class of Fed Ex drivers is being represented in a case filed in May 2007. Those plaintiffs are being represented by Shannon Liss-Riordan of Pyle, Rome, Lichten, Ehrenberg, and Liss-Riordan, from Massachusetts and by Richard Hayber of the Hayber, McKenna & Dinsmore, LLC and Anthony Pantuso of the Pantuso Law Firm, LLC, both of Connecticut. Congratulations to the California drivers and good luck to our local Connecticut drivers and their attorneys.