Amazon, contractors settle wage-theft lawsuit for $8.2M

SEATTLE — Amazon and Seattle-area delivery contractors have agreed to an $8.2 million class-action settlement with drivers who alleged wage theft when they were delivering the commerce giant’s packages.

The settlement stems from a 2017 suit brought by two drivers, Gus Ortiz and Mark Fredley. The drivers weren’t directly employed by Amazon — they worked for an intermediary company, Jungle Trux, one of hundreds of third-party logistics outfits that Amazon has contracted with in the past decade to speed deliveries to customers’ doorsteps.

In their lawsuit, Or tiz and Fredley said Amazon was just as culpable as Jungle Trux in forcing them to work without lunch or rest breaks to deliver between 150 and 200 packages a day to Amazon customers. The drivers said they were never paid for the missed breaks. An attorney for Jungle Trux declined to comment.

The drivers wore Amazon uniforms, followed Amazon’s rule book for package delivery, and were supervised by Amazon employees, according to the lawsuit.

“The lack of rest and meal breaks was part of the culture for Amazon delivery drivers,” said Seattle driver Henr y Abreu in the lawsuit. “It was just the way it was. Amazon assigned us a certain number of packages that we were required to deliver in the time allotted by Amazon and according to Amazon’s instructions.

“If we did not finish within the allotted time,” he said, “Amazon would issue negative marks against us.” Abreu, who worked for the now-defunct Amazon contractor Deliver y Force, said he urinated in a bottle he kept in the van during deliver y shifts because he didn’t have enough time to use the restroom.

Abreu and other drivers working for similar Seattlearea Amazon delivery contractors said they were expected to show up to work at 4 a.m. but not allowed to clock in until 90 minutes later, according to declarations in the lawsuit.