An Amazon third party courier service is facing a proposed wage and hour class action lawsuit brought by a former independently contracted Amazon delivery driver.

Filed in California Superior Court, the former Amazon delivery driver says Red Line Courier, a third party delivery service that contracts with Amazon, not only misclassified him for over a year as an independent contractor but failed to pay him proper wages and overtime.

Plaintiff Charlton Fields was employed by Red Line Courier Service providing third party delivery services for companies like Amazon from approximately May 2014 to November 2015.

Specifically, Fields says he was hired to work for Red Line as an exclusive “independent contractor” Amazon delivery driver out of Amazon’s warehouse using his own personal vehicle.

During this time as an “independent contractor” Amazon delivery driver he was compensated an hourly rate of $14.00 per hour.

Around Nov. 2015, Red Line and Amazon reclassified Fields as an employee, reduced his compensation to $12.00 per hour and began providing him and other Amazon delivery drivers company-owned Amazon vehicles for delivery services, according to the lawsuit.

In May 2016, Fields voluntarily resigned from his job as a third party Amazon delivery driver. However, he contends that his classification as an independent contractor for Red Line Courier from May 2014 to Nov. 2015, was a violation of California labor laws.

Specifically, Fields contends that Red Line controlled compensation structures and work schedules, as well as the manner and means in which work was performed.

He also claims that Red Line had the power to discipline, supervise and fire delivery drivers.  This control, according to Fields, made him an employee of Red Line but instead he states he was misclassified as an independent contractor.

Additionally, Fields alleges that even after he was reclassified as an employee, specifically working as an exclusive Amazon delivery driver, Red Line continued issuing wage statements and paychecks with Red Line Courier Service listed as his employer.

According to his proposed class action lawsuit, Fields alleges that under this new classification, Red Line Courier “systematically denied him reimbursements for incurred expenditures, lawful meal and rest breaks and regular pay and minimum wages for regular hours worked, as well as compensation for overtime,” as required by California Labor Law.

He is seeking to represent a class of Red Line Delivery Drivers providing package pick-up and delivery services in the state of California at any time and believe they were not compensated or classified properly.

CA Labor Laws: Employee v. Independent Contractor

The proper classification of workers as employees or independent contractors is not a new concern for many California employers. Unlike employees, independent contractors are not subject to a variety of employment laws, including California wage and hour laws, anti-discrimination laws, and unemployment and workers compensation requirements.

The misclassification of employees as independent contractors, however, can carry hefty fines and penalties under federal and California labor laws, as well as claims for unpaid wages and benefits by the misclassified employees.

Additionally, when companies misclassify their workers as independent contractors, these employees are often deprived of many benefits including overtime pay, vacation pay, health insurance, employer-sponsored retirement plans, and expense reimbursements. Misclassified employees also do not receive unemployment and workers’ compensation benefits.

The Red Line Courier Amazon Delivery Driver Class Action Lawsuit is Charlton Fields et al. v. RLCS Inc. d/b/a Red Line Courier Service et al., Case No. BC625202 in the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Los Angeles, Central District.

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