The US Federal Trade Commission said the agreement settles a
complaint that Amazon failed to give the full tip amounts to drivers in its
Amazon Flex programme.
"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.
"Our action today returns to drivers the tens of
millions of dollars in tips that Amazon misappropriated, and requires Amazon to
get drivers' permission before changing its treatment of tips in the
future."
The settlement bars Amazon from misrepresenting driver
earnings, pay or percent of tips paid to drivers, or changing its handling of
tips without drivers' consent, the FTC said.
Amazon is one of several e-commerce firms that have been
accused of misappropriating tips while promising to give the full amounts to
drivers.
According to the FTC's administrative complaint, the company
regularly advertised that drivers participating in the Flex program would be
paid $18 to $25 per hour along with "100 percent of the tips you
earn."
In late 2016, the FTC alleged, Amazon shifted to a lower
hourly rate without disclosing this and used the customer tips to make up the
difference. This resulted in hundreds of complaints from drivers, according to
the agency.
The company reverted to its previous policy in August 2019
after the FTC began its investigation, according to the complaint.
An Amazon spokesperson said in response to an AFP query:
“While we disagree that the historical way we reported pay to drivers was
unclear, we added additional clarity in 2019 and are pleased to put this matter
behind us."
The company said its drivers "play an important role in
serving customers every day, which is why they earn among the best in the
industry at over $25 per hour on average.”
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment