Amazon shortchanged drivers $61.7M in tips
washingtonpost.com
Amazon shortchanged drivers $61.7M in tips
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Re: Amazon shortchanged drivers $61.7M in tips
#2> (Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post)
Maybe it's only a veneer of independence, but I like that WashPo is reporting on this.
Re: Amazon shortchanged drivers $61.7M in tips
#3> The FTC alleges Amazon changed the way it paid drivers in late 2016, lowering the hourly rate and then used customer tips to make up the difference. Amazon continued to tell drivers they were receiving all of their tips, even after receiving hundreds of complaints from drivers, the agency said.
How is this not simply theft? Why does this attract civil charges and not criminal ones?
Re: Amazon shortchanged drivers $61.7M in tips
#4> The FTC alleges Amazon changed the way it paid drivers in late 2016, lowering the hourly rate and then used customer tips to make up the difference. Amazon continued to tell drivers they were receiving all of their tips, even after receiving hundreds of complaints from drivers, the agency said. How is this not simply theft? Why does this attract civil charges and not criminal ones?
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Re: Amazon shortchanged drivers $61.7M in tips
#5"Law precludes the agency from additionally fining the company." Does it also preclude criminal charges? This still seems to be theft of interest.
Re: Amazon shortchanged drivers $61.7M in tips
#6This is why I tip in cash. Instacart, Doordash & Amazon peas in a pod when it comes to stealing tips from hourly wage earners.
Re: Amazon shortchanged drivers $61.7M in tips
#7Always tip cash.
> Amazon agreed to pay the regulator $61.7 million, the amount the FTC claims the company shorted its drivers in tips over a 2½ year period.
Can the common man also get this kind of generous treatment from the law - just pay back what you stole and move on?
Re: Amazon shortchanged drivers $61.7M in tips
#8Previous: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26003836
I appreciated samizdis’ comment, which I’ll just copy in full:
FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra has also put out a statement [1], titled Regarding the Deception of Delivery Drivers by Amazon.com Commission File No. 1923123
Some extracts:
> In total, Amazon stole nearly one-third of drivers’ tips to pad its own bottom line. ...
> ... Amazon executives chose not to alter the practice, instead viewing drivers’ complaints as a “PR risk,” which they sought to contain through deception. ...
> Today’s order provides substantial redress to the families victimized by Amazon’s anticompetitive deception. However, this cannot be the only action we take to protect workers and families from dominant middlemen. ...
> I also agree with Acting Chairwoman Slaughter and Commissioner Phillips that preying on workers justifies punitive measures far beyond the restitution provided here, and I believe the FTC should act now to deploy dormant authorities to trigger civil penalties and other relief in cases like this one.
[1] https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements...
Re: Amazon shortchanged drivers $61.7M in tips
#9Just do away with tips. It's a terrible and stupid system. If you want to do it as a customer, go ahead, but it should never be considered as part of the employee's compensation. If people aren't willing to do the job for the hourly wage alone with no tips, raise the wage until they are.
Re: Amazon shortchanged drivers $61.7M in tips
#10Always tip cash. > Amazon agreed to pay the regulator $61.7 million, the amount the FTC claims the company shorted its drivers in tips over a 2½ year period. Can the common man also get this kind of generous treatment from the law - just pay back what you stole and move on?
The article mentions that the payment goes to the drivers, which is better than it just going to the FTC. It’s unlikely that the drivers are a rich bunch, the stolen money and interest with a penalty percentage would seem a minimum reasonable penalty.