6 events in Passaic County with a date

Amazon sued over driver pay, conditions

Denies state attorney general's allegation of 'punishing' work

By: Daniel Munoz
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... New Jersey is suing Amazon over delivery drive pay and other working conditions, alleging in an antitrust suit that the Online shopping giant used its market dominance o suppress wages, keep drivers for the company from organizing into labor unions and subject them to "punishing" working conditions.
..... Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, in the complaint filed on Tuesday August 4, [2026] in U.S. District Court for New Jersey in Newark, alleged that thousands of New Jersey drivers saw lower wages and "harsher working conditions "because of how Amazon wielded its market dominance.
..... "This complaint is not grounded in fact," Amazon spokesperson Steve Kelly respond in an emailed statement.
..... Davenport's office did not raise any of he claims with amazon before announcing the suit, instead opting for "a press conference over a conversation or real effort to understand the truth," Kelly said.
..... Under Amazon's "Delivery Service Partner" program run by its logistics apparatus and launched in 2018, small businesses can hire drivers and deliver packages. Amazon has said the system enables the delivery of 20 million packages across the globe each day.
..... But Davenport, Governor Mikie Sherrill's top law enforcement office, accused Amazon of illegally creating a Monopsony," in which a single buyer heavily controls the market and uses that power to cut down on competition among other potential suppliers.
..... "DSPs are not true independent businesses that can resist Amazon's demands," the filling says about Delivery Service Parthers. "Rather, amazon created DSPs to be creature of Amazon, wholly beholden to, and the vehicle through which Amazon imposes its monosony power on delivery drivers."
..... Amazon controls the drivers' delivery routes, monitors driver performance, branded the uniforms drivers have to wear, and branded the delivery vans and software they have to use, the attorney general's press release said. The monitoring system uses GPS tracking, artificial intelligence and cameras to survive the drivers, the suit alleges.
..... "Amazon built a company worth trillions while subjecting drivers in its delivery network otartificially low-pay and punishing working conditions thanks to its overwhelming power in the labor market," Davenport said.
..... Kelly, the Amazon spokesperson, characterized the DSPs as "independent business owners who make their own decisions about hiring, fleet management, and capacity planning - and they choose whether to work with other companies besides Amazon."
..... The complaint says Amazon has used so-called no-poach agreements to keep DSPs from recruiting drivers from other DSPs, making it "practically impossible for DSPs to serve other customers."
..... "The no-poach policy, or a practical policy to that effect, chills DSPs' incentive to offer higher wages or better working conditions that other DSPs," the complaint says.
..... Amazon has also suppressed unionization efforts by Amazon drivers, and several of those drivers were ultimately fried or rejected by other delivery partners, the suit alleges.
..... To crush union bids, Amazon flew drones over a Queens site to record participants in a strike and installed extra security cameras in the facility, the lawsuit says.
..... Because of Amazon's actions, the drivers make less than postal service, UPS and FedEx drivers, court documents say.

Past state suits against Amazon

..... Davenport is seeking damages and compensation for DSPs and DSP drivers, a court order barring the alleged anticompetitive practices, and another court order preventing Amazon from terminating or threatening to fire any further delivery drivers while this matter plays out in court.
..... Though Tuesday's [08/04/2026] announcement was the first legal action the Sherrill administration announced against Amazon, other suits were file in state court under the administration of her predecessor, Phil Murphy.
..... In October 2025, the Murphy administration announced that it was suing Amazon over allegations that it illegally misclassified delivery drivers as independent contractors to avoid paying taxes and benefits.
..... Another suit from the Murphy administration alleged that Amazon discriminated against pregnant workers and employees with disabilities.
..... Both matters are playing out in court.

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