Three Amazon delivery drivers in Colorado sued the e-commerce giant last week alleging the company subjected them to such strict monitoring that they were forced to skip bathroom breaks or risk being disciplined.
The workers, one of whom is an Iraq War veteran, said they were forced to urinate in bottles or even defecate in dog waste bags they kept inside their delivery trucks in violation of Colorado labor laws, the 16-page complaint filed in Denver District Court on May 22 shows.
“This case is about one of the wealthiest and most powerful companies in the world, Amazon, maintaining work policies that require its delivery drivers … to restrain themselves from using the bathroom at risk of serious health consequences,” the complaint states.
“Amazon operates this scheme through harsh work quotas and elaborate tracking and workplace surveillance technology that make it impossible for Amazon delivery drivers to fulfill basic human needs while on the job.”
Colorado law requires employers to allow all staffers to take paid rest breaks for every four hours of work, and the three drivers claimed that Amazon’s “pace-of-work policies” denied them these breaks.
“I fought for this country in Iraq, but I had an easier time going to the bathroom in a combat zone than I did while working for Amazon,” driver Ryan Schilling said.
The complaint claims that trash cans in Amazon fulfillment centers “are frequently overflowing with bottles full of urine that drivers have thrown away at the end of their shifts.”
The workers were even afraid to take bathroom breaks when they had to do more than urinate, according to the suit.
“Twice I’ve had to defecate so badly that I’ve had to use dog waste bags in the back of delivery vans,” Schilling said. “I knew that if I tried to stop to go to a gas station, I’d get yelled at and maybe lose my job. What choice do Amazon drivers have?”
Two of the drivers suing Amazon are women and have also alleged that the company’s poor working conditions are discriminatory to women who cannot as easily relieve themselves.
“As a woman, I can’t just easily pee in a bottle,” plaintiff Leah Cross said. “When I worked for Amazon, I had to bring a change of clothes in case I peed my pants while trying to hit Amazon’s delivery metrics. I was told I couldn’t even stop to pick up some sanitary products. With this lawsuit, I’m fighting for Amazon to treat humans like humans.”
The e-com behemoth contracts “Delivery Service Partners” (DSP) which employ the drivers, however, the delivery workers claim in the suit that the DSPs “are independent in name only.”
The partners “must acquiesce to Amazon’s control over nearly every aspect of their business,” the plaintiffs alleged.
Amazon has repeatedly faced similar accusations from drivers and warehouse staff for years.
It initially denied the “pee-bottle” claim in 2021 and came under fire as journalists spouted off examples they witnessed firsthand.
Shortly after the backlash, the company acknowledged that drivers “can and do have trouble finding restrooms” but blamed that on rural routes and restroom closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amazon did not immediately return a request for comment on the allegations, but a spokesperson for the company told 9NEWS that it encourages its delivery partners to support drivers by allowing them time for bathroom breaks.
“We want to make it clear that we encourage our Delivery Service Partners to support their drivers,” Sam Stephenson said in a statement to the outlet. “That includes giving drivers the time they need for breaks in between stops, providing a list within the Amazon Delivery app of nearby restroom facilities and gas stations, and building in time on routes to use the restroom or take longer breaks.”
The three drivers are represented by Towards Justice, Terrell Marshall Law Group LLC and Public Justice.
They are suing for damages as well as changes to Amazon’s polices to “allow their drivers the dignity of being able to meet their basic human needs.”
“It’s a moral abomination that in 2023, people working at one of the wealthiest and most powerful companies in the history of the world have to bring a change of clothes to work in case they pee themselves,” Executive Director of Towards Justice David Seligman said in a statement.
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