Amazon Employment Class Action Lawsuit Claims Drivers Denied Overtime

Amazon, as well as two of its contractors, has been hit with an Amazon employment class action lawsuit from two delivery drivers.

In the Amazon employment class action lawsuit, the workers allege that Amazon’s contractors wrongfully denied them the overtime pay they earned.

The delivery drivers also claim that Amazon had enough control over their work duties that they should also be held liable as a joint employer for any wage violations they make against the company’s contractors.

The plaintiffs who filed this Amazon employment class action lawsuit, Theron Bradley and Tommy Jenkins, worked as delivery drivers for Silverstar Ltd. and Gold Standard Transportation Inc., respectively.

These companies are contractors for Amazon, providing delivery services for the corporation’s Illinois customers.

Allegations Raised in Amazon Employment Class Action Lawsuit

The hybrid Amazon employment class action lawsuit alleges that the workers were underpaid for the overtime hours they worked, which violates the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as well as Illinois wage and hour laws.

Bradley and Jenkins allege that the contractors they worked for worked jointly, sharing human resources departments, management, and office space.

The drivers allege that, each morning, they were required to report to an Amazon warehouse in Chicago where vans were loaded with Amazon merchandise and they received instructions from Amazon employees, the Amazon employment class action lawsuit alleges.

The workers allege that though Amazon did not consider them employees, they were still required to wear the company’s uniforms, drive vans with its logo, and report delivery problems to Amazon directly rather than to the contractors.

It was also Amazon that had policies in place for the evaluation and discipline of the drivers, according to the Amazon employment class action lawsuit.

The lawsuit also claims that both workers worked in excess of 40 hours each week on a routine basis. However, they allege that those hours of extra work were not compensated with time-and-a-half wages.

This is just the most recent Amazon employment class action lawsuit to allege the company is a joint employer according to FLSA. By claiming Amazon as a joint employer, plaintiffs allege that Amazon is responsible for wage and hour violations committed by its contractors.

An Amazon employment class action lawsuit filed back in September alleges that the company, along with staffing agency SMX LLC, intentionally misclassified both the plaintiff and her coworkers as independent contractors rather than employees in order to avoid paying employee benefits.

That lawsuit, like this one, alleged that Amazon and SMX were joint employers of the delivery drivers due to the level of Amazon’s control over their work, resources, and training.

Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuits

For workers like these Amazon delivery drivers who believe they have been paid unfair overtime wages, there are federal and state laws put in place.

These laws are set to ensure the fair treatment of workers. FLSA rules that protect workers’ rights also protect workers from any retaliation by their employers based on wage and hour complaints.

If you have worked for an employer like Amazon, a subsidiary, or a contractor that has failed to follow the Fair Labor Standards Act or state labor laws, including unpaid overtime wages, you may be able to either join an Amazon employment class action lawsuit or file a lawsuit individually.

The Amazon Employment Class Action Lawsuit is Theron Bradley et al. v. Silverstar Ltd. et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-10259, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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