Bulletins

FTC hands Amazon Flex drivers millions in withheld tip money

The commission sued Amazon for holding back tip money earlier this year.

Amazon money

Amazon Flex drivers are getting millions back in withheld tips.

Image: Amazon, Sharon McCutcheon via Unsplash

Amazon Flex drivers are getting $60 million in tip money that the Federal Trade Commission said was illegally withheld.

The FTC is handing drivers checks ranging from a few hundred to thousands of dollars. In total, the commission is making out roughly 140,000 checks and over 1,600 PayPal transactions.

The cash came out of a lawsuit earlier this year that alleged Amazon held back tips from Flex drivers between 2016 and 2019 and only stopped when the company learned of an FTC probe. Amazon settled the case with all of the tip money — over $60 million — in February.

Sarah Roach

Sarah (Sarahroach_) writes for Source Code at Protocol. She's based in Boston and can be reached at sroach@protocol.com

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