New York CNN —More than 15,000 Amazon contract drivers filed arbitration claims against the e-commerce giant on Tuesday, alleging Amazon classified them as independent contractors instead of employees with minimum wage and overtime rights. Amazon Flex, launched in 2015, allows independent contractors to sign up to deliver Amazon packages. Flex drivers provide Amazon Fresh grocery deliveries or same-day deliveries from the company’s warehouse hubs. Since the drivers are classified as independent contractors, these claims ask for compensation for unpaid wages and overtime, and reimbursement for expenses such as mileage and cell phone usage. Tindall told CNN that the workers filed independent arbitration claims instead of a class action lawsuit because drivers have to sign an agreement that forbids class action.

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Persons: misclassification, Steven Tindall, Tindall, Joseph Sellers, “, Sellers, we’re, ” Tindall, CNN’s Samantha Delouya Organizations: New, New York CNN, Amazon, Flex, American Arbitration Association, Drivers, CNN Locations: New York, California , Massachusetts, Illinois