Thousands of Amazon Flex drivers submitted arbitration requests on Tuesday, claiming they were misclassified as independent contractors instead of employees, the drivers' attorney told Reuters.
Approximately 15,800 drivers have filed arbitration requests with the American Arbitration Association, demanding Amazon pay them back wages, overtime pay, and work-related expenses such as mileage and cell phone use, the attorney said. There are also 453 similar cases already in litigation.
One of the drivers mentioned in the arbitration request that Amazon did not provide a 10-minute break for Flex drivers working more than 3.5 hours.
One request states that Amazon did not provide a 30-minute meal break for drivers working more than five hours a day, while another request accuses Amazon of failing to provide detailed pay stubs as required by California law.
An Amazon spokesperson told Reuters, "The Amazon Flex program offers individuals the opportunity to set their own schedules and be their own boss while earning competitive pay."
Amazon Flex is similar to on-demand ride services like Uber, providing customers with quick deliveries of daily household items through programs such as Prime Now and Amazon Fresh.
