FedEx Ground is in the middle of a debate about the proper definition and use of independent contractors. Companies like FedEx Ground that use these workers can create a more flexible workforce and avoid employment taxes. However, worker advocates argue that these employers are just avoiding their responsibilities to pay taxes and to these workers who are actually employees under the law.

FedEx Ground, the most profitable division of FedEx, uses 15,000 independent owner-operators to work its routes. The drivers own their own trucks, but must display company colors and logos on the trucks.

In December, the IRS tentatively concluded that the owner-operators who worked for FedEx in 2002 should be reclassified as employees. If this ruling holds, FedEx will owe $319 million plus interest in tax and penalties. Also in December, the Massachusetts attorney general fined FedEx Ground more than $190,000 for misclassifying drivers.

FedEx continues to defend its independent contractor business model at the same time that it works to change it. The company is offering incentives for drivers to operate multiple delivery routes, which may help to more clearly define these drivers as independents. Right now, about 45 percent of FedEx Ground’s volume is handed by single-work-area contractors.