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Three drivers who have made deliveries on contract for Amazon.com have filed an Amazon delivery driver class action lawsuit, saying they should be considered employees, not independent contractors.
This Amazon delivery driver class action lawsuit follows similar legal actions against companies relying on independent contractors to carry the weight of a significant part of their operations.
The complaint, filed in Washington federal court, was brought forth by Shannon Liss-Riordan, the same attorney who led two class action lawsuits by drivers against Uber. These lawsuits yielded a proposed $100 million settlement that was later blocked by the court.
The Amazon delivery driver class action lawsuit names both Amazon.com Inc. and Amazon Logistics, a program in which the retail giant contracts with local delivery providers, from single drivers to companies with their own employees.
Amazon also contracts directly with individuals to provide deliveries through a service called Amazon Flex, a program in which individuals independently sign up to provide delivery services for Amazon. All the delivery drivers suing have worked for Amazon Flex, according to the complaint.
Amazon Delivery Driver Class Action Lawsuit
In the Amazon delivery driver class action lawsuit, plaintiffs Bernadean Rittman, Freddie Carroll, and Julie Wehmeyer allege that Amazon violated federal labor laws by failing to ensure they earn the minimum wage after paying for gas and maintenance, and by not paying overtime.
The complaint further says the delivery drivers had a direct contract relationship with Amazon. But it argues that instead of independent contractors, they are “actually employees” because they are highly supervised and were trained by the company on how to deal with customers.
Drivers must follow “Amazon’s instructions regarding where to make deliveries, in what order, and which route to take,” the Amazon delivery driver class action lawsuit states.
Additionally, the lawsuit claims that independent contractors can be fired at Amazon’s discretion, and their services are “fully integrated into Amazon’s business,” making them indistinguishable from other employees.
The plaintiffs are seeking to represent a certified nationwide Class of individuals who worked as delivery drivers for Amazon.com Inc. or Amazon Logistics who have contracted directly with Amazon and have been classified as independent contractors.
It’s not the first lawsuit that claims Amazon misclassifies its delivery drivers as independent contractors. Last year, four former delivery drivers for Prime Now sued the company in a similar complaint.
How Employee Misclassification Hurts Workers
As on-demand companies like Amazon find savvy ways to navigate employment law, the misclassification of employees as independent contractors allows them to maximize profits at their workers’ expense. Through misclassification, employers avoid paying both reimbursements for on-the-job costs like gas and car maintenance as well as the minimum hourly wage.
If you worked as a delivery driver for Amazon or its affiliates and feel you were misclassified as an independent contractor, you may be eligible to participate in an employee rights class action lawsuit.
The Amazon Delivery Driver Class Action Lawsuit is Rittman et al. v. Amazon.com Inc. and Amazon Logistics Inc., Case No. 2:16-cv-01554 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
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15 thoughts onAmazon Delivery Driver Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Misclassification
How do we sign up for this class action lawsuit?? I have quite a bit of info to add on the wrong doings of this Amazon Flex program and I’m tired of being their puppet!
I’ve worked for amazon flex for a couple of years in the past. How do I join in on the is law suit?
Add me
Please add me. I currently work for flex for 2 years so far.
I worked as an amazon flex driver from 11/2015-4/2018. Tell me how can get involved with the class action lawsuit for the same reasons?
Add me
I have tried to file as well. With outstanding evidence. They must be stopped. Have you guys also had the experience of being told to work for free outside of your deliver block, its your fault if you don’t deliver on time even if you have about 3-5 minute time frame for each package. No matter where you are or what warehouse you work for they expect impossible things to come true and it’s our fault if they do not. These are mental mind games and pure harassment after a certain point. That is my claim. There is multiple issues going on here. Start recording your calls and get them saying you should work for free. Keep your emails of them telling you it’s your fault on time frames no one can do on time.
More on this:
Do the math! Calculate “AFTER” you leave the warehouse how much time you have left in minutes. Then divide that by the number of packages you have. You can clearly calculate how many minutes you have per a customer. Right there is where you will realize how screwed you really are before you even start.
You can even put in the large distance drives before you deliver a single package. It is quite clear that is mathematically impossible to do what they ask at many many warehouses. They try to make money off your ignorance and they have succeeded greatly. Everyone has the power to stop them so do it!
I work as an amazon flex driver and ive been with them since janiary 2017. Tell me how can get involved with the class action lawsuit for the same reasons?
Its not right if u drive for amazon flex they tell you you only can drive up to 39 hrs. As an independent contractor you can work as many hrs as you want. I work as an independent contractor for another company and there is no limit to how many hour u can work.
Legally nobody can really say this but it’s true. They know they are maxing out our mileage and our time waiting for shifts. They know that if we get hurt or are injured we are at the mercy of the road- and there is no health insurance or road assistance to cover us. They know that they could not possibly pay enough to cover the maintenance on all of our vehicles, even if we all drove a prius. Each person’s experience is different and varies broadly based on your choice vehicle, phone, and routing.
But I can say one thing for sure, it is going to take a hell of a lot *more* clear evidence to get them to change anything.
When we are at the warehouse, we are thiers to do with what they will. When we are on the road, we are taking a huge risk- every time. Because Amazon, just doesn’t have our backs on this one at all. If there is an accident or injury, we even pay thier $1000 deductible up front. Yet none of us can afford it.
And everybody knows it.
Yet we keep going on… taking these huge risks, for only barely less than $10.00 an hour after expenses.
Yes your are right tgey abuse me and im still working for this amazon flex. I am not happy at all. They tell me what to do wherento go how to do .