"Oregon delivery contractors sue Amazon, seeking $15 million over ‘unsafe,’ ‘unreasonable’ driving conditions", 27 October 2021

Two firms that delivered packages for Amazon in the Portland area sued the tech giant...alleging it imposed “unsafe” and “unreasonable” conditions on the contractors and their drivers — throttling the businesses and injuring personnel.

...Triton Transportation and...Last Mile Delivery, stopped delivering Amazon packages in the Portland area last June. Last Mile told drivers at the time that “Amazon has been nickel and diming us so bad” that they couldn’t manage the business profitably or deliver packages safely.

The companies are seeking $15 million, plus damages and attorney fees in the lawsuit...Amazon said it did not have any immediate comment on the litigation.

Triton and Last Mile allege that Amazon dictated every element of its business, from which drivers they hire to how much it could pay them and the hours they worked.

They accuse Amazon of refusing basic accommodations, such as using smaller vans in the narrow streets of Portland’s West Hills...

Drivers frequently worked 12-hour days to meet Amazon’s demands, the contractors say, but Amazon would only reimburse the companies for 10-hour shifts. So the delivery companies had to pay the difference, including overtime, from their own budgets.

And they say Amazon made no accommodations to allow drivers to slow down to avoid creating hazardous situations.

Amazon’s “unreasonable requirements resulted in numerous injuries to Plaintiffs’ drivers, including back injuries resulting from (Amazon’s) fast paced load-out requirements at the warehouse and falls and strains from rushed deliveries,” the plaintiffs allege. “The rushed deliveries also put the public at risk.”...

Triton and Last Mile say Amazon also interfered with their business relationship with vehicle suppliers and others, and provided rival contractors with confidential information about the two companies’ operations and personal information about their drivers.