Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LITIGATION NEWS, TRENDS—New Jersey AG sues Amazon for misclassification of Flex delivery drivers, (Oct 21, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

In New Jersey, most workers are generally presumed to be employees, rather than independent contractors, unless a business can satisfy the ABC test—in its suit, New Jersey’s AG lays out all the ways the trillion-dollar company cannot.

This week, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo announced they had filed suit against Amazon and its Amazon Logistics delivery network for misclassification of Flex delivery drivers as independent contractors. They allege that Amazon unlawfully deprived the drivers of their rightful wages, benefits, and many other legal rights and protections afforded to employees.

Multiple violations. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges unlawful deduction, diversion, and withholding of wages; minimum wage violations; failure to pay overtime; failure to maintain records of hours and wages; failure to make available and pay earned sick leave; failure to provide notice and keep records of earned sick leave; failure to make required contributions to the New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Fund, Disability Benefits Fund, and Workforce Development Funds; and misclassification.

The lawsuit estimates that New Jersey Flex drivers and the two state funds have suffered millions of dollars in losses each year as a result of the misclassification. Indeed, NJDOL’s investigation into Amazon’s Flex program began after it received applications from Flex drivers for unemployment and temporary disability benefits.

Control over how performed. Amazon’s Flex drivers deliver packages to both commercial and residential locations, using their own vehicles and paying their own expenses, including gas, insurance, maintenance, and tolls. While Amazon Flex drivers may have a choice about when they work, Amazon exercises significant control over how drivers perform their work, including the time, method, and manner of how deliveries are made.

This relationship constitutes employment, the lawsuit alleges, and the misclassification of employees as independent contractors deprives them of their rights to the minimum wage, mandated overtime, earned sick leave, and job-protected family leave.

The lawsuit provides a few specific examples of the ways in which Flex drivers are harmed by Amazon’s misclassification. One driver often works over 40 hours a week driving for Amazon but never receives state-mandated overtime pay at one-and-one-half times their regular rate of pay. Another Flex driver injured her back while picking up a package and was unable to work for Amazon for 11 days, during which time she lost income because she does not receive state-mandated sick leave. She resumed driving before she recovered because she could not afford the time off. Another driver regularly paid for tolls out of pocket, which had the effect of lowering his pay to below the minimum wage.

ABC test not satisfied, they allege. New Jersey argues that Amazon will not be able to satisfy the ABC Test, with specific examples. These include that drivers must undergo a background check as well as training, which is not paid; drivers do not operate other independent businesses, seeking their own clients; drivers must use Amazon’s mobile app to sign up for shifts and receive delivery instructions from Amazon including prescribed delivery routes; drivers must agree to surveillance on the app, installed on their personal phones; Amazon closely monitors the time drivers spend on their deliveries, the order in which they make them, and how many stops they make along the way; Amazon evaluates drivers with “Standings” that affect how much work Amazon assigns them; drivers report to Amazon warehouses or other locations to pick up packages and return undelivered packages; drivers are unable to negotiate their pay; Amazon may choose to provide incentives to drivers; and drivers can be fired from the Flex program without notice.

Moreover, Amazon caps the number of shifts drivers can sign up for each week, but the company does not restrict the actual hours drivers work, nor does Amazon pay drivers for routes that take longer than anticipated. If a driver needs to complete extra tasks in a day or week to follow Amazon’s delivery policies, such as returning undeliverable packages, Amazon does not pay them, even if the company’s policies cause the driver to work over 40 hours a week.

“Let’s not make any mistake about this: when a trillion-dollar company says it is providing you with ‘a flexible way of earning extra money on your own schedule,’ it is not offering this opportunity for your benefit. Amazon is looking out for itself,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Amazon is taking advantage of Flex drivers and enriching its bottom line by failing to obey our labor laws and offloading its business expenses for the benefit of shareholders.”

The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey-Essex County; the case is No. ESX-L-008049-25.

Companies: Amazon.com, Inc.; Amazon Logistics, Inc.

News: LitigationNewsTrends WageHour EmployeeStatus StateLawClaims GCNNews