Amazon work rules govern tweets, body odour of contract drivers
The thousands of people driving those ubiquitous Amazon-branded blue vans aren't employed by the Seattle leviathan. They work for small, independent businesses with contracts to transport packages for Amazon. But that hasn't stopped the company from dictating the state of their fingernails-and a whole lot more.
"Personal grooming must be maintained at an acceptable level, including but not limited to prevention of unpleasant breath or body odour, modest perfume/cologne, and clean teeth, face/ears, fingernails and hair," Amazon. com Inc says in a recent version of its policies governing these small delivery companies, or what the company calls Delivery Service Partners. The document, reviewed by Bloomberg, also requires that drivers refrain from "obscene" social-media posts, undergo training programmes approved by Amazon, follow instructions from Amazon's delivery app and be drug tested whenever Amazon representatives ask.
The DSPs are required to adhere to Amazon's policies, which the company can unilaterally change whenever it wants, according to a recent contract also seen by Bloomberg. They also have to provide Amazon physical access to their premises and all sorts of data the retailer wants, such as geo-locations, speed and movement of drivers-information the company says it has the power to use however it wants.
For several years, Amazon has sought to bring order to its farflung delivery operations, which were plagued by accidents, complaints about thrown packages and infamous incidents such as the time a contract driver relieved herself in a customer's driveway. But in exerting more control over these workers, legal experts say, the company has created legal risks for itself. Amazon has chosen not to directly employ DSP drivers, an arrangement that shields it from costs and liabilities the work incurs. Amazon's growing sway over its delivery partners, however, could convince courts and government agencies that the company is actually a "joint employer" or "vicariously liable" party.