New Jersey Takes on Amazon: Lawsuit Alleges Flex Drivers Unlawfully Denied Employee Rights
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, New Jersey is taking a trillion-dollar e-commerce giant to court. Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo have filed a major lawsuit against Amazon and its Amazon Logistics network. The core accusation? Unlawfully misclassifying their Amazon Flex delivery drivers as independent contractors, thereby depriving them of essential employee rights, wages, and benefits.
The state alleges that this illegal misclassification, ongoing since at least 2017 and affecting thousands of Flex drivers, has cost workers and state funds millions of dollars each year.
The Heart of the Dispute: What is the Misclassification Allegation?
Amazon heavily markets its Flex program as a “flexible” way to earn money. Flex drivers use their personal vehicles and pay for all their own business expenses, including gas, insurance, maintenance, and tolls.
However, the lawsuit claims that despite the “independent contractor” label, Amazon maintains significant control over the time, method, and manner of how deliveries are made.
- Attorney General Platkin stated, “Amazon is taking advantage of Flex drivers and enriching its bottom line by failing to obey our labor laws and offloading its business expenses for the benefit of shareholders.”
- Labor Commissioner Asaro-Angelo added, “We will not allow Amazon to expand its empire by exploiting New Jersey workers and our state’s unemployment trust funds… Classifying workers correctly is New Jersey law, there are no exceptions, regardless of the company size.”
This control, the state argues, means the relationship constitutes employment under New Jersey law, regardless of what Amazon calls it.
The “ABC Test” and the Evidence Against Amazon
In New Jersey, a worker is generally presumed to be an employee unless the business can satisfy all three prongs of the stringent “ABC Test” (N.J. Stat. § 43:21-19(i)(6)).
The complaint details extensive evidence illustrating why Amazon allegedly cannot meet this test, including:
- Control and Direction (Part A): Drivers must use Amazon’s mobile app for shifts and are given prescribed delivery routes. Amazon closely monitors delivery time, order, and number of stops, and evaluates drivers with “Standings.”
- Outside the Usual Course of Business (Part B): Delivering packages is clearly within Amazon’s usual course of business.
- Customarily Engaged in an Independent Business (Part C): Drivers do not operate other independent businesses or seek their own clients. They are often subject to a shift cap and can be fired from the Flex program without notice.
Drivers are also forced to report to Amazon locations to pick up and return packages, and they are unable to negotiate their pay.
What Rights and Funds are at Stake?
Misclassification as an independent contractor means Flex drivers are unlawfully denied critical employee benefits and protections, including:
- Minimum Wage
- Mandated Overtime Pay (one-and-one-half times their regular rate)
- Earned Sick Leave and Job-Protected Family Leave
Furthermore, Amazon allegedly failed to make required contributions to vital State funds, including the Unemployment Compensation Fund and the State Disability Benefits Fund. This failure shifts the financial burden onto other New Jersey employers and taxpayers.
The lawsuit shares examples of the harm to drivers: one worked over 40 hours a week without receiving overtime; another lost income after a work injury because she had no sick leave; and another’s pay dipped below minimum wage after paying for tolls.
New Jersey’s Track Record on Misclassification
This case against Amazon is part of a vigorous, ongoing effort by the Murphy Administration and the Attorney General’s Office to combat worker misclassification.
New Jersey has previously resolved major misclassification cases with ridesharing companies like Lyft and Uber for millions. Since 2020, NJDOL has also levied millions of dollars in penalties against companies found to have misclassified workers, with the money going directly back to the affected workers. The Century Foundation estimates that misclassification cost New Jersey taxpayers $329.3 million in 2021 alone.
The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of Essex County, seeks a jury trial, recovery of improperly withheld wages, imposition of fines and penalties, and recovery of unpaid monies due to the State funds.
This action sends a clear message: New Jersey will continue to fight to ensure all workers receive the rights and benefits guaranteed under state law, regardless of the size or valuation of their employer.
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New Jersey is deliberately defying common sense here, and ruthlessly destroying freedom of commerce.
Fingers crossed it loses this preposterous lawsuit.
Also–the donkey party must be dislodged from Drumthwacket in November or we are SUNK as a state.
I see amazon drivers using private vehicles without commercial registrations
I see uber drivers using private vehicles without commercial tax registrations
So why would any legit business still pay for commercial plates when the state allows these personal vehicles to be used for commercial business.