The FTC said drivers were not notified of this change. PURPOSE: To inquire, share, and learn about all things Amazon Flex, rideshare related, such as Uber & Lyft. Before posting, please take a moment to read what this group is all about. This practice ended in 2016 after Amazon allegedly lowered the minimum hourly pay for drivers and made up the difference with their tip money. Amazon Flex Drivers Nationwide has 9,066 members. In its February lawsuit, the FTC said that customers and drivers were told by Amazon that the drivers would receive 100 percent of any tips paid. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Verge on Thursday.Īmazon Flex contracts with individual drivers to deliver packages in their own vehicles, primarily delivering Prime Now and Amazon Fresh goods. In February, Amazon agreed to settle the case and surrender all of the tip money, totaling more than $60 million, to the FTC. Amazon has told its contract Flex drivers, which deliver the e-commerce company’s packages, to stay home if they get sick amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, according to a memo obtained by. “Rather than passing along 100 percent of customers’ tips to drivers, as it had promised to do, Amazon used the money itself,” said Daniel Kaufman, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in February. Amazon continued to collect portions of the drivers’ tips up until the government filed its lawsuit outlining the alleged illegal behavior in 2019, according to the FTC’s investigation. “The highest back payout going to a single driver is more than $28,000”Įarlier this year, the FTC sued Amazon for withholding tips in its Flex program between the years 20.