[US] Possibility of Supreme Court challenge after Amazon loses driver pay suit

The First Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on the question of whether Amazon delivery drivers are engaged in interstate commerce, like seamen and railway workers. It found that they are, which means Amazon cannot rely on an arbitration clause to avoid working conditions lawsuits. The ruling involved driver Bernard Waithaka who used his own vehicle to carry out “last mile” deliveries for Amazon in Massachusetts. 

Mr Waithaka alleges that Amazon violated the state’s minimum wage laws by illegally classifying he and other drivers as independent contractors and not employees. The company’s response to the lawsuit was to highlight a clause in its Amflex app; an app that Amazon uses to oversee deliveries by its own driver fleet. The clause requires drivers to waive their right to sue Amazon, resolving any disputes under the Federal Arbitration Act of 1925 instead. Fortune has further details of the First Circuit’s ruling and the compelled arbitration tactic.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on the question of whether Amazon delivery drivers are engaged in interstate commerce, like seamen and railway workers. It found that they are, which means Amazon cannot rely on an arbitration clause to avoid working conditions lawsuits. The ruling involved driver Bernard Waithaka who used his own vehicle to carry out “last mile” deliveries for Amazon in Massachusetts. 

Mr Waithaka alleges that Amazon violated the state’s minimum wage laws by illegally classifying he and other drivers as independent contractors and not employees. The company’s response to the lawsuit was to highlight a clause in its Amflex app; an app that Amazon uses to oversee deliveries by its own driver fleet. The clause requires drivers to waive their right to sue Amazon, resolving any disputes under the Federal Arbitration Act of 1925 instead. Fortune has further details of the First Circuit’s ruling and the compelled arbitration tactic.