They Seek Unpaid Wages and Other Losses, Saying They Should Have Been Classified as Employees

NEW YORK — Thousands of delivery drivers filed legal claims against Amazon on June 11, alleging the company’s classification of them as independent contractors instead of employees has led to unpaid wages and other financial losses.

Two law firms spearheading the action said about 15,860 Amazon Flex drivers have submitted arbitration claims with the American Arbitration Association, where 453 similar cases are already being litigated.

Amazon’s Flex program, which was founded in 2015, signs up drivers to deliver packages with their own cars and a special app.

The arbitration claims were made by drivers in California, Illinois and Massachusetts, all of which have rules that limit the amount of control companies can exert over independent contractors. The claims, collected over a span of four years by attorneys Joseph Sellers and Steven Tindall, maintain the drivers should be classified as Amazon employees instead of independent contractors, based on current laws in the three states.

That change would allow Flex drivers to collect unpaid wages because Amazon only pays them for a pre-determined number of hours regardless of how long it takes to complete deliveries, according to the lawyers. It would also allow Flex drivers to receive overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours a week and get reimbursements for work-related expenses, such as gas costs and vehicle wear and tear.

Gas and other vehicle costs are a “huge expense to our clients,” Tindall said. He also said one client represented in the claims worked seven-day weeks making deliveries for Amazon during a holiday period and never was paid overtime.