Amazon changes delivery pay practices following missing wage reports

Amazon is changing how delivery drivers are
paid.
AP/Stephan
Savoia

• Amazon is
  making changes to how delivery drivers are paid to “enable
  transparency and accuracy of pay,” according to an internal
  company email.
• These drivers are managed by third-party courier companies
  that work out of Amazon facilities.
• The new requirements, which take effect November 19,
  follow a
  Business Insider investigation into Amazon’s delivery
  system that detailed numerous reports of missing wages and lack
  of overtime payments.
• “Employees rely on you and expect you to pay them on
  time and reliably without error,” Amazon’s email reads in part.
  “That’s why Amazon is making an important change that requires
  your immediate attention.”

Amazon is making major changes to how some delivery drivers are
paid to “enable transparency and accuracy of pay,” according to a
leaked internal email.

Amazon will soon require its courier companies, which manage
thousands of delivery drivers for the tech giant, to
electronically track and record employees’ hours using “time and
attendance tracking” software provided by the payroll company
ADP, according to the email, which was seen by Business Insider.

The requirement, which takes effect November 19, follows a

Business Insider investigation into Amazon’s delivery system
that detailed numerous reports of missing wages and lack of
overtime payments.

Amazon will also soon prohibit courier companies from paying
drivers a flat daily rate, according to the email. The companies,
which Amazon calls “delivery service partners,” must now pay
drivers by the hour, the email said.

Amazon and one of its courier companies, TL Transportation, are

facing a lawsuit alleging that daily pay rates failed to
properly compensate drivers for overtime hours.

“Payroll can be complicated but it’s one of the most important
parts of running a business as your employees rely on you and
expect you to pay them on time and reliably without error,” said
the email, which was sent to delivery service partners on Monday.
“That’s why Amazon is making an important change that requires
your immediate attention.”

The email did not mention anything about
Amazon’s plans, announced Tuesday, to increase its minimum
wage to $15 an hour for all US employees.

The wage increase will not apply to employees of Amazon’s
delivery service partners.

In response to this story, Amazon released the following
statement: “Over the years, we have worked with our partners,
listened to their needs, and have come to recognize that small
businesses sometimes need more support when scaling fast. As a
result, we have implemented new programs, such as electronic
time-tracking that enables transparency and accuracy of pay for
drivers, to ensure small delivery businesses serving Amazon
customers have the tools they need to deliver a great customer
and employee experience.”

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