Former Amazon delivery drivers file lawsuit for unpaid overtime

(WAFB) - A group of former delivery drivers that make sure birthday presents or that “just because” gift gets from the Amazon warehouse to your front porch is putting up a fight with an internet retail giant.

A former Amazon delivery driver mentioned in the lawsuit says from the moment he started working for the company in October of 2018, he worked more than 40 hours per week.

The lawsuit says the “plaintiff and other Collective Members are regularly scheduled to work five (5) to six (6) days per week, with shifts that are scheduled for ten (10) hours.”

The former employee says he generally delivered, “approximately 68-159 Amazon packages per shift,” all while being paid a flat rate of $135 per day.

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, drivers should be paid for overtime. This employee says that wasn’t the case for him and several other people involved in the class action suit, who sometimes drive approximately 50 to 161 miles per shift.

The former driver says after he and other, “Collective Members finish delivering their assigned packages, Defendants require them to ‘rescue’ other Delivery Associates by going to meet another Delivery Associate in the field to deliver some of their packages.”

On top of not being paid for hours worked, the lawsuit claims drivers couldn’t take a lunch break. The lawsuit says the “plaintiff routinely works through his lunch without extra pay and he is unable to take short breaks due to the high volume of deliveries.”

According to the lawsuit, Amazon says Shead-Loman Transport, the company that hires the drivers, is responsible for paying overtime.

The former employees want to get money back they say they're owed.

We reached out to Amazon for comment. A spokesman for the internet retailer said, “Amazon has a longstanding practice of not commenting on pending litigation.”

The lawsuit was filed in December of 2018 in The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The plaintiffs in this case are demanding a trial by jury.

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