Yesterday, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and the New Jersey Department of Labor announced they are suing Amazon for misclassifying workers as independent contractors, rather than as employees. This is yet another high-profile case the Murphy Administration has led to ensure workers have access to the benefits the law allows.
“The Murphy Administration has been a national leader on fighting the misclassification of employees as independent contractors,” said New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech. “His Administration is getting tough on the nation’s second largest company, because they continue to rake in higher and higher profits at the expense of workers,” he concluded.
To view the press release from the New Jersey Department of Labor, CLICK HERE.
New Jersey case law is clear. “App.” based drivers are employees, not independent contractors. This suit comes on the heels of two previously successful suits on the same issue against Uber and Lyft.
When businesses intentionally misclassify workers, they lose access to unemployment insurance, overtime, minimum wage, paid sick days, paid family leave, worker compensation, among other earned benefits. And because independent contractors are outside the NLRA, these workers have their right to join a union stripped away from them.
This action signals the Murphy Administration is not letting up on enforcing New Jersey’s misclassification laws in the final months of his term. We support the swift adoption of pending regulations on the “ABC test” that are currently pending, and we also urge the Murphy Administration to sue other transportation and goods delivery companies that refuse to play by the rules and refuse to treat their workers fairly.