Amazon sued and accused of 'stealing' tips given to delivery drivers

The District of Columbia in the US said on Wednesday (December 6) that it is suing e-commerce giant Amazon for allegedly stealing tips from Flex service delivery drivers in order to boost profits and reduce costs.

The lawsuit says that Amazon was breaking local law on deceptive trade practices.

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

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

The lawsuit is aimed at Amazon.com and Amazon logistics. It contends that from late 2016 to mid-2019, Amazon tricked consumers who thought that the tip money was being paid to Flex service drivers while in reality, it was being used for reducing operating costs.

"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, offering drivers the opportunity to earn from $18 to $25 hourly, plus tips, for using their own vehicles to deliver groceries or packages for the company.

"Nothing is more important to us than customer trust," Amazon spokesperson Maria Boschetti said in response to an AFP inquiry.

"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."

(With inputs from agencies)

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