Amazon Class Action Lawsuit Says Background Checks Target Minorities

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A group of drivers say minorities are unfairly targeted under Amazon’s current background check policy, particularly Latino and black drivers, leading to their termination with the company.

The policy doesn’t take into account their performance and leads to the firing of drivers based on their background check, the Amazon class action states.

The lead plaintiffs allege that they were each hired as delivery drivers for Amazon, pending a background check.

Each, according to the Amazon driver class action lawsuit, were fired based on information from their background check, despite their great performance record and without a deeper look into their individual circumstances.

According to the Amazon employee class action lawsuit, this policy discriminates against minorities who are hit with extra police scrutiny and traffic enforcement.

Amazon’s background check policy amplifies the discrimination black and Latino drivers face in current society, say the plaintiffs.

“It is well­-documented that communities of color, including black and Hispanic communities in Massachusetts and across the country, are subjected to policing and traffic enforcement, and are arrested and convicted, at rates significantly higher than the white population,” alleges the Amazon background check class action lawsuit.

“For this reason, Amazon’s termination of delivery drivers based solely on background check information has a disparate impact on black and Latino drivers, by importing the racial disparities in the criminal justice system into the employment process.”

The Amazon delivery driver class action lawsuit points out guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that outlines the negative impact of relying on background checks in hiring on black and Latino workers.

The Commission’s guidance says that companies should take additional factors into consideration when hiring, like current performance.

Amazon ignored the federal regulatory authority’s guidance, instead it fires drivers with good performance records based on information in their background checks, the Amazon.com class action alleges.

“Our clients are all hard­working individuals who were doing a great job delivering packages for Amazon,” stated an attorney representing the plaintiffs in the Amazon class action lawsuit in a press release. “Amazon’s decision to fire them had nothing to do with their ability to perform the job, but was based solely on an overly strict background check policy. That is not only poor business practice, it also violates federal and state anti­-discrimination laws.”

According to the Amazon class action lawsuit, the company’s background check policy for drivers violates state discrimination laws.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages and lost wages on behalf of themselves and a Class of minority drivers with the company.

The Amazon employee class action lawsuit is also seeking a court order requiring Amazon to stop its allegedly discriminatory background check policies.

The lead plaintiffs and proposed Class are represented by Stephen Churchill of Fair Work PC and Oren M. Sellstrom and Sophia Hall of Lawyers For Civil Rights.

The Amazon Background Check Class Action Lawsuit is Andrews, et al. v. Amazon Inc., Case No. 1884CV03702E, in the Suffolk Superior Court for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.