• Amazon is accused of violating local legislation involving deceptive trade practices.
• The District of Columbia announced that it will sue Amazon for allegedly taking gratuities from its drivers.
• Drivers are paid between $18 and $25 per hour, plus tips, for delivering groceries or packages.

Wednesday, the District of Columbia announced that it will sue Amazon for allegedly taking gratuities from its Flex service delivery drivers in order to minimize labor expenses and increase revenues.

Amazon is accused of violating local legislation involving deceptive trade practices, despite the fact that the corporation has already compensated drivers as part of a deal with the Federal Trade Commission.

“When a company is caught stealing from its workers, it is not enough for the company to repay the amount stolen,” claimed the attorney general of the local government of Washington, DC, Karl Racine.

“Stealing from workers is theft, and significant penalties are necessary to strongly disincentivize this unlawful conduct.”

The lawsuit filed against Amazon.com and Amazon Logistics alleges that between late 2016 and mid-2019, the e-commerce giant deceived consumers into believing tip money went to Flex service drivers when it was really utilized to decrease operating expenses.

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“Amazon, one of the world’s wealthiest companies, certainly does not need to take tips that belong to workers,” Racine said in a release.

“Amazon can and should do better.”

Amazon launched Flex in 2015, allowing drivers to earn between $18 and $25 per hour, plus tips, for delivering groceries or packages using their own vehicles.

The claim charges that the next year, Amazon modified the driver payment scheme in a way that resulted in a large chunk of tip money being utilized to secretly support driver pay.

In response to an AFP inquiry, Amazon spokesperson Maria Boschetti stated, “Nothing is more important to us than customer trust.”

“This lawsuit involves a practice we changed three years ago and is without merit – all of the customer tips at issue were already paid to drivers as part of a settlement last year with the FTC.”

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