Thousands of delivery employees have filed suit against Amazon on Tuesday, arguing that the corporate’s classification of those affected as independent contractors slightly than employees had led to unpaid wages and other financial losses.
Two law firms leading the lawsuit said about 15,860 Amazon Flex drivers have filed arbitration claims with the American Arbitration Association, where 453 similar cases are already pending.
Amazon’s Flex program, founded in 2015, requires drivers to Deliver packages with their very own cars and a special app.
The company promotes the work as a versatile, part-time opportunity that enables people to earn extra income on the times they select. Most drivers earn $18 to $25 an hour, based on Amazon, although the quantity they make can rely on other aspects, similar to their location and the length of deliveries.
The arbitration claims filed on Tuesday were filed by drivers in CaliforniaIllinois and Massachusetts, which have laws limiting corporate influence over independent contractors. The claims, collected over 4 years by attorneys Joseph Sellers and Steven Tindall, say the drivers must be classified as Amazon employees, not independent contractors, under current laws within the three states.
This change would allow Flex drivers to say unpaid wages because Amazon only pays them for a predetermined variety of hours, no matter how long the deliveries take, the lawyers said. Flex drivers may be paid additional time in the event that they work greater than 40 hours per week and be reimbursed for work-related expenses similar to gas costs and vehicle wear and tear.
Gas and other vehicle costs are “a huge expense for our customers,” Tindall said in an interview. He also said that one customer named within the lawsuits worked seven days every week during a vacation period making deliveries for Amazon and was never paid additional time.
In a prepared statement, Amazon spokesman Branden Baribeau touted the advantages of the Flex program, saying it gives “individuals the opportunity to set their own work hours and be their own boss while earning a competitive salary.”
“We hear from most Amazon Flex delivery partners that they love the flexibility of the program, and we are proud of the work they do on behalf of customers every day,” said Baribeau.
Tindall and Sellers say they’ve been successful in seven of the eight arbitration cases against Amazon that they’ve taken to court. The drivers they represented in those cases have been awarded a median of $9,000 in damages.
Amazon’s business model for its driver workforce – consisting of independent contractors and Third party firms which enable the corporate to Union formation – is being examined and challenged from various sides.
A bipartisan group of greater than 30 U.S. senators sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy last week asking for more information concerning the company’s relationship with the hundreds of independent businesses which are a part of Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners Program.
In March Supreme Court of Wisconsin uphold a lower court ruling declaring Flex drivers to be employees—a call that will allow them to take part in the state’s unemployment insurance system and, if fired, qualify for unemployment advantages.
The Teamsters Unionwhich tries to prepare Amazon drivers, also filed a grievance with the National Labor Relations Board last yr concerning the company’s classification of a few of its drivers.
