This article was written in 2004. Starting In 2005 FedEx got in a bunch of misclassification lawsuits over using 1099 contractors, today they have lost over $453 Million to these settlements. http://www.talentwave.com/fedex-worker-misclassification-cas...
I'm amazed they still get away with this after losing multiple class action lawsuits over it, but apparently losing the string of class action lawsuits over violating labor laws is cheaper than just following the labor laws or they would have started following them a long time ago.