ABOUT THE CASE AND SETTLEMENT

INTRODUCTION

On November 12, 2003 a coalition of nationally-known law firms filed an employment discrimination class action lawsuit against FedEx Express. The named Plaintiffs alleged that FedEx Express discriminated within its Western Region against African-American and Latino hourly employees with respect to promotions, compensation, and discipline and against African-American operations managers with respect to compensation and discipline. The Plaintiffs also alleged that FedEx Express's Basic Skills Test ("BST") was biased against African Americans and Latinos. Read the most recent Complaint to find out more about these claims.

THE LITIGATION

After filing their complaint, Plaintiffs obtained and analyzed hundreds of thousands of pages of FedEx Express documents and took deposition testimony from key FedEx Express managers and former managers. Both sides then produced reports from experts who reached different conclusions about whether FedEx Express's practices discriminatorily injured African Americans and Latinos.

After a hearing, the Court found that the case could proceed as a class action lawsuit - that is, that the named Plaintiffs could represent all African-American and Latino FedEx Express employees in the Western Region claiming that FedEx Express had discriminated against them on the basis of race or national origin with respect to promotions, pay, and discipline. (Read the Court's Class Certification Order.) If you are a member of the class, you probably received Notice in February 2006 that the Court had certified the class.

After the Court certified the class, the parties began preparing for the trial. Trial was originally set for February 2007 and was later continued to May 2007. In the course of preparing for trial, Plaintiffs obtained and reviewed many more documents, took many more depositions of key FedEx Express witnesses, and submitted additional reports from experts. The parties exchanged trial exhibits and proposed verdict forms, and filed numerous motions before the Court as both sides geared up for trial.

THE SETTLEMENT

Shortly before the trial was scheduled to begin, the parties began a mediation, or settlement, process. Numerous in-person meetings took place between December 2006 and March 2007. Mediation enabled the parties to better understand each other's positions and, ultimately, to reach an agreement to settle and resolve the litigation.

As part of the parties' agreement, which is known as a Consent Decree, FedEx Express has agreed to make many changes to its policies and practices and to pay nearly $38.5 million to Class Members who file claims. (Read more about these policy and practice changes and about the monetary benefits below.)

You are a Class Member with a claim for money damages under the settlement if:

(1) You are an African American or Latino who worked at FedEx Express as a Freight Handler, Material Handler, Checker-Sorter, Customer Service Agent, Courier, Swing Driver, Ramp Transport Driver, Ramp Area Driver, Shuttle Driver, Dangerous Goods Agent, Information Agent, Operations Agent, Ramp Agent, Service Assurance Agent, Truck Control Agent, Trace Representative, Input Auditor, Team Leader, or Dispatcher in the Western Region of the AGFS and DGO Divisions at any time between October 17, 1999 and April 13, 2007.

AND/OR

(2) You are an African American who worked at FedEx Express as an Operations Manager in the Western Region of the AGFS and DGO Divisions at any time between October 17, 1999 and April 13, 2007.

Injunctive Relief: Changes to FedEx Express Policies and Practices

As part of the settlement, FedEx Express will agree to be bound by a Consent Decree for four years that will obligate it to implement a number of steps that affect the way it evaluates, pays, disciplines, and promotes its hourly employees and Operations Managers. The overall objective of this Decree, which is a type of court order, is to ensure equal employment opportunities for African Americans and Latinos who work for FedEx Express in the Western Region.

In order to help achieve this goal, FedEx Express has agreed to take many steps, inclu ding all of the following:

Promotions To Hourly Positions

(1) FedEx Express will discontinue use of the Basic Skills Test ("BST") as a requirement for awarding Courier, Ramp Transport Driver, or Service Agent positions.

(2) FedEx Express has eliminated the "casual" category of employees.

(3) FedEx Express will post all open positions on JCATS, and will fill job vacancies for hourly positions only through the JCATS system, subject to the limited policy exceptions noted in the Decree.

(4) FedEx Express will eliminate the step of manager "approval" to apply for a promotion through JCATS; instead, managers will only verify that employees meet all requirements for the promotion.

Promotions To Management

(5) FedEx Express will provide information on its intranet and on paper that informs employees about the ASPIRE system for entry into management positions, will allow all eligible employees to enroll in available ASPIRE to Management classes, and will require only that managers verify employees' eligibility for ASPIRE to Management, rather than "approve" employees' requests for management classes.

Performance Evaluations and Compensation

(6) FedEx Express will provide training and specific guidelines for managers to use in the performance evaluation process, will eliminate manager discretion to make "exceptions" to performance review scores, except in clearly prescribed circumstances, and will monitor the subjective criteria used in the performance review process to make sure that subjective criteria are not used to give African Americans or Latinos disproportionately low performance review scores.

Discipline

(7) FedEx Express will revise its discipline policy to ensure evenhanded enforcement of disciplinary rules, including enforcing its requirement that the factual background and reason for all discipline be documented in writing.

Guaranteed Fair Treatment Policy

(8) FedEx Express will revise its Guaranteed Fair Treatment ("GFT") policy to encourage, rather than require, employees to engage in "open and frank" discussion with the decision-maker prior to initiating the GFT process, and will provide the employee with access to the Management Rationale for the challenged action and allow the employee time to respond.

Accountability

(9) Managers will be evaluated on whether they follow FedEx Express's revised policies with respect to promotions, pay, and discipline.

(10) FedEx Express will subject to discipline, up to and including termination, those managers who fill positions without following FedEx Express's official procedures (such as failing to choose the person with the highest CEV points for a job).

Monitoring and Enforcement

(11) FedEx Express will establish an internal Monitoring Panel to monitor and enforce these policies and practices and to ensure compliance with all terms of the Consent Decree. The Monitoring Panel will review reports of complaints of discrimination by FedEx Express employees, and will also receive and review other reports designed to insure that FedEx Express is following the new policies established through this Consent Decree.

(12) Throughout the term of the Consent Decree (4 years), FedEx Express will provide regular progress reports to Counsel for the Plaintiffs. These reports will describe FedEx Express's progress in implementing the Decree, and include information about complaints of discrimination by African American and Latino employees, discipline imposed, and promotions granted. If Counsel for the Plaintiffs believe that FedEx Express is disobeying its obligations under the Decree, Counsel may bring the matter to the attention of the Court or a Special Master.

(13) A Court-appointed Special Master (an experienced lawyer who previously served as the parties' Mediator) will be authorized to resolve any disputes under the Consent Decree.

No Retaliation

(14) FedEx Express will not retaliate in any way against the employees (or former employees) who sued it.

If, after the No Retaliation (14) FedEx Express will not retaliate in any way against the employees (or former employees) who sued it. If, after the Consent Decree becomes effective, a member of the class has reason to believe that FedEx Express is not fully complying with one of the terms of the Consent Decree, that member of the class can contact Class Counsel to provide the basis for that belief.

Monetary Relief: Monetary Benefits for Class Members Who File Claims

In addition to the steps described above, FedEx Express has agreed to pay $38.5 million to Class Members who make timely claims for past discrimination.

From this $38.5 million, Plaintiffs will propose to the Court that the nine class representatives each receive an award of $30,000 (for a total of $270,000), to compensate them for their time involved in filing a lawsuit or charge against FedEx Express, and that 18 individuals who submitted declarations in support of Plaintiffs' claims, all but one of whom were deposed, each receive $5,000 (for a total of $90,000), designed to compensate them for the time involved in the case and in completing their depositions and/or declarations.

Costs of providing notice to the class will also be paid from the $38.5 million, and the fund will be reduced by a pro rata amount (returned to FedEx Express) based on the number of Class Members who opt out of the case. The remainder of the $38.5 million will be used to pay Class Members who file timely claims.

On May 23, 2007, the Claims Administrator will send out a Notice of Class Action Settlement and Claim Form to everyone who is a Class Member according to FedEx Express records. If you are a Class Member and would like to claim money damages, you should fill out a Claim Form and mail it, postmarked by August 1, 2007, to the Claims Administrator:

Satchell v. FedEx Express Claims Administrator
Post Office Box 1695
Tallahassee, FL 32302-1695

If you are a Class Member but you do not receive a Notice of Class Action Settlement and Claim Form by the second week of June, please call the Claims Administrator at this toll-free number: 1-866-854-4154.