Amazon Prime Now Drivers Sue Company Alleging Abusive Practices

Delivery drivers for the new Amazon Prime Now service are suing Amazon.com Inc., alleging they have been wrongfully paid as independent contractors even though they are treated as employees.

“Amazon’s mission to deliver now at no additional cost to its customers is being funded by the delivery drivers,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Beth A. Ross. “Unlike the drones that Amazon hopes to eventually replace them with, these drivers are human beings with rent to pay and families to feed.”

The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging various employment law violations.

An Amazon representative did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

Amazon Prime Now is a service the company recently started in metropolitan areas around the country, including Los Angeles and San Francisco. The service allows customers to place orders for tens of thousands of items that can be delivered within a one-to-two hour delivery window.

Amazon contracts its California Prime Now delivery services through courier company Scoobeez, which also is being sued.

The Amazon Prime Now drivers in the Southland are paid $11 per hour and have no opportunity to negotiate a higher wage, the suit alleges. Drivers are expected to make deliveries in their personal vehicles and to cover all gas, insurance and maintenance costs out of their own pockets, the suit states.

Drivers also work regular shifts and are given very specific instruction regarding not only what packages they have to deliver when, but also what routes to take when making deliveries, the suit states. They wear uniforms that identify them as working for Amazon Prime Now, they often work more than eight hours a day and they can be scheduled seven days a week without a day off, all without receiving overtime pay, according to the lawsuit.

Amazon drivers staged a strike at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex Wednesday.

City News Service; Photo: www.flickr.com