Amazon Flex Drivers Lawsuits and Arbitrations (2024)

Our legal claims say Amazon misclassified its Flex drivers to avoid paying them minimum wage and overtime pay and to avoid reimbursing them for work-related expenses, including for mileage driven and cell phone use. The legal claims brought forward may vary according to individual State laws. 

Because California Flex drivers should have been classified as employees, according to the arbitration claims, Amazon’s treatment of Flex drivers violated California meal and rest break law by: 

• failing to provide paid rest breaks and unpaid meal breaks 
• violating California overtime law by not providing overtime pay for hours worked beyond 8 per day or 40 per week 
• violated California paystub laws by not providing wage statements with information on hours worked, hourly pay rates, and expense reimbursements 
• violated California final paycheck law by failing to provide last-day compensation to Flex drivers that it terminated from the program 

Because Illinois Flex drivers should have been classified as employees, according to the lawsuit, Amazon’s treatment of Flex drivers:   

• violated Illinois Minimum Wage Law by not paying the statutory minimum wage for all hours worked or spent training; and again, for failing to pay the statutory overtime rate for all hours worked over 40 in one week  
• violated Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act by failing to reimburse Claimant for business-related expenses incurred during work for Defendants. 

Because Massachusetts Flex drivers should have been classified as employees, according to the lawsuit, Amazon’s treatment of Flex drivers violated the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law; and Massachusetts employment law: 

• by not paying the statutory minimum wage for all hours worked; and again by failing to pay statutory overtime rate for all hours worked over 40 in one week; 
• by not reimbursing business-related expenses incurred during Claimant’s work for Defendants;  
• by failing to provide Claimant with adequately detailed pay slips. 

The statute of limitations for workers to recover lost wages and unpaid benefits varies depending on the state. The longer you wait to file your claim, the less money you may  be able to recover. If you wait too long, you may lose your claim forever.  

If you’re unsure about what claims you may have, you can fill out our form and we will send you a survey where you can learn immediately whether you have potential claims. 

Below is a compilation of the most frequently asked questions by other Flex drivers like you. If you have questions about our arbitrations against Amazon or are curious to know what other people are asking, read this section. 

• How much money can I get from the lawsuit? 

• • We have had a lot of success already in the cases that have gone to hearing, as arbitrators in six out of eight of the cases have awarded our clients thousands of dollars. That said, our firms cannot guarantee any specific case results. The prior successful results were dependent on the facts of each individual case and do not guarantee a similar result in future cases. Results may differ in other cases if based on different facts (including the length of time you delivered for Amazon Flex and the state in which you worked), presented to a different arbitrator, or for other reasons. 

• Can I be compensated for time driving between delivery centers? 

• • Generally, we seek to obtain compensation for the unpaid time spent driving between delivery centers. That said, time spent commuting to a delivery center from home, or back home from the last delivery of the day is usually considered a regular commute, and is generally not recoverable. 

• Will I be paid for all the years I have been a Flex driver? 

• • It depends. Every claim has a statute of limitations.  If some of the time you worked for Amazon is outside the statute of limitations, then you may not be able to recover for work done then. That said, there are some legal arguments for why the statute of limitations can be extended, for certain clients. If that argument is applicable to your claims, we will make it. 

• What if I have a wrongful termination or workers comp (injury) claim? 

• • We are only pursuing claims regarding misclassification. If you have a workers compensation claim for injuries on the job or a wrongful termination claim, you should seek the advice of another attorney promptly, as the passage of time may affect your rights. That said, we can still pursue your misclassification claim, and pursuing both separately should have no negative impacts on either case. 

• How much longer will this take? 

• • Unfortunately, we do not have a way to predict how long the case will take. It is not uncommon for some cases to take 3 to 5 years, or sometimes even more. That said, we are hopeful that will not be the case here. 

• I no longer have evidence of my work done for Amazon, am I out of luck? 

• • No. Amazon should have records of the work you completed for them. We hope to obtain those records to assist us in pursuing your claim. If, however, you do have documents (electronic or physical) that include information about your time at Amazon, it is very important that you keep those documents safe and DO NOT throw them away or delete any electronic documents related to your work with Amazon. 

• Is this a class action lawsuit? 

• • No, our firm is only filing individual arbitrations due to the arbitration clause every single Flex driver signed when they became a Flex driver. 

Steven Tindall

Steven Tindall has specialized in employment and class action litigation for eighteen years. He has been lead or co-lead counsel on several cases that resulted in settlements worth over $1 million.

Dylan Hughes

Dylan Hughes concentrates his practice on investigating and prosecuting fraud matters on behalf of whistleblowers, consumers and employees harmed by corporate misconduct.

Aaron Blumenthal

Aaron Blumenthal represents consumers, employees, and whistleblowers in class action and other complex litigation.

Joseph Sellers

Joseph Sellers is the chair of the Civil Rights and Employment group at Cohen Milstein, Sellers & Toll, PLLC, where he has litigated civil rights, wage theft, and discrimination class actions for more than 40 years. He has served as class counsel in more than 75 class actions and has tried several class actions to judgment, including the first sexual harassment class action tried to judgment before a jury.

Stacy Cammarano

Stacy Cammarano is an Associate in the Civil Rights and Employment group at Cohen Milstein, Sellers & Toll, PLLC where she represents employees in wage theft and discrimination class actions.

 

Gustavo Berrizbeitia

Gustavo Berrizbeitia is a Paralegal in the Civil Rights and Employment group at Cohen Milstein, Sellers, & Toll PLLC. Gustavo habla español.

Our California employment attorneys – with over 50 years of collective experience litigating under California employment law – know how to fight for employees’ rights and get them the money they deserve. We’ve recovered tens of millions of dollars for California employees and represent individuals as well as class actions in virtually every area of California employment and labor laws: California overtime law, off the clock violations in CA, breach of contract disputes, California independent contractor law, sexual harassment, employee misclassification, discrimination, as well as mass layoffs in violation of the California WARN Act. Our California employment lawyers are repeatedly recognized for their expertise litigating in California. Founding partner Eric Gibbs has been selected as one of the Top Plaintiff Lawyers in California. And seventeen of the firm’s attorneys were selected as Northern California Super Lawyers and Rising Stars, a distinction received by less than 5% of attorneys in Northern California.

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