Amazon Flex Driver Alleges Company Conducts Illegal Background Checks in Class Action

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Amazon Flex Drivers Background Check Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

• Why: The plaintiff accuses Amazon of failing to provide disclosures and obtain permissions from Amazon Flex drivers before conducting background checks.
• Who: An Amazon Flex driver is suing the online retail company.
• Where: The class action lawsuit is pending in California federal court.

An Amazon Flex driver delivered a class action lawsuit to the company for allegedly violating several consumer and consumer credit protection laws in its background check process for hiring Amazon Flex drivers. 

The lead plaintiff, Narek Mile Melikyan, was hired in October 2019 as an Amazon Flex delivery driver. As part of the hiring process, Amazon conducts “consumer, investigative, and/or credit reports” of the prospective drivers, according to court documents. 

In August 2020, Melikyan obtained a copy of his background report and related documents and realized that Amazon had acquired this background check without also obtaining federally and state-required disclosure forms signed by Melikyan. 

Melikyan seeks to represent all current, former, and prospective Amazon Flex delivery drivers in the United States and California who were allegedly subjected to an illegal background check.  

Amazon Background Check Disclosures Confusing and ‘Noncompliant,’ Says Flex Employee

The class action lawsuit argues that Amazon was in violation of consumer protection laws by providing a legally non-compliant disclosure about the background reports if they provided a disclosure at all. 

For one, the laws dictate that such disclosures around background checks must be provided separately or away from irrelevant information. Amazon’s disclosure form allegedly contained unclear and extraneous information.

The disclosure also supposedly painted Amazon’s scope as “all-encompassing,” but “to the extent permitted by law,” without explaining its limits or how employees could opt out of the disclosure if they chose. 

Further, Melikyan argues that the disclosure’s language was confusing, making it unclear whether all employees or only those within certain states were entitled to free copies of their consumer reports.

Melikyan seeks actual and/or compensatory damages, punitive damages, expenses of litigation, and the requirement of Amazon to comply with their legal obligations. 

The plaintiff is not the first Amazon Flex driver to accuse the company of unlawful labor practices. Last year a class action lawsuit filed by Amazon Flex drivers alleged that the online retailer illegally snoops on private Facebook groups to gather intelligence on potential collective bargaining efforts.

Earlier this year, Amazon has agreed to pay $61.7 million to the Federal Trade Commission to settle claims it pocketed tips meant for Flex delivery drivers.

Are you an Amazon Flex driver? Did the company run a background check during the hiring process? Tell us about it in the comment section below!

The plaintiff is represented by Joseph Lavi, Vincent C. Granberry, Anwar D. Burton, and Kevin Joseph Farman of Lavi & Ebrahimian, LLP.

The Amazon Flex Drivers Background Check Class Action Lawsuit is Melikyan v. Amazon.com Inc., et al., Case No. 2:21-cv-08715, in the US District Court for the Central District of California. 

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