Hundreds of supply drivers filed authorized claims towards Amazon on Tuesday, alleging the corporate’s classification of them as unbiased contractors as an alternative of staff has led to unpaid wages and different monetary losses.
Two regulation corporations spearheading the motion mentioned about 15,860 Amazon Flex drivers have submitted arbitration claims with the American Arbitration Affiliation, the place 453 related circumstances are already being litigated.
Amazon’s Flex program, which was based in 2015, indicators up drivers to ship packages with their very own automobiles and a particular app.
The corporate pitches the work as a versatile, part-time alternative that enables folks to earn further revenue throughout the hours they select. Most drivers earn $18-25 per hour, in line with Amazon, although how a lot they receives a commission can depend upon different elements, similar to their location and the way lengthy it takes to finish deliveries.
The arbitration claims submitted Tuesday have been made by drivers in California, Illinois and Massachusetts, all of which have guidelines that restrict the quantity of management firms can exert over unbiased contractors. The claims, collected over a span of 4 years by attorneys Joseph Sellers and Steven Tindall, preserve the drivers ought to be categorised as Amazon staff as an alternative of unbiased contractors, based mostly on present legal guidelines within the three states.
That change would enable Flex drivers to gather unpaid wages as a result of Amazon solely pays them for a pre-determined variety of hours no matter how lengthy it takes to finish deliveries, in line with the attorneys. It might additionally enable Flex drivers to obtain additional time pay in the event that they work greater than 40 hours every week and get reimbursements for work-related bills, similar to gasoline prices and car put on and tear.
Fuel and different car prices are a “big expense to our purchasers,” Tindall mentioned throughout an interview. He additionally mentioned one consumer represented within the claims labored 7-day weeks making deliveries for Amazon throughout a vacation interval and by no means was paid additional time.
In a ready assertion, Amazon spokesperson Branden Baribeau touted the advantages of the Flex program, saying it offers “people the chance to set their very own schedule and be their very own boss, whereas incomes aggressive pay.”
“We hear from a lot of the Amazon Flex supply companions that they love the pliability of this system, and we’re pleased with the work they do on behalf of consumers each day,” Baribeau mentioned.
Tindall and Sellers say they’ve up to now succeeded in seven of the eight arbitration claims towards Amazon they took to trial. The drivers they represented in these circumstances have been awarded a mean of $9,000 in damages.
Amazon’s enterprise mannequin for its driving workforce – made up of unbiased contractors and third-party companies that enable the corporate to keep away from unionization – faces scrutiny and challenges from completely different corners.
A bipartisan group of greater than 30 U.S. senators despatched Amazon CEO Andy Jassy a letter final week asking for extra data on the corporate’s relationship with the 1000’s of unbiased companies that make tens of millions of deliveries every day as a part of Amazon’s Supply Service Companions program.
In March, the Wisconsin Supreme Courtroom let stand a decrease courtroom ruling that declared Flex drivers to be staff – a choice that may enable them to be a part of the state’s unemployment insurance coverage system and entitled to jobless pay if they’re laid off.
The Teamsters union, which is looking for to prepare Amazon’s drivers, additionally filed a grievance on the Nationwide Labor Relations Board final 12 months difficult how the corporate classifies a few of its drivers.
