For Immediate Release
Contact: Cynthia Santana
Communications Manager
206-256-5219
cynthia.santana@seattle.gov
Seattle Office of Labor Standards Announces Settlement with Amazon Flex for Violations of Gig Worker and App-Based Worker Protections
$3,777,924.10 Returned to 10,968 Workers
Seattle, WA – (December 3, 2025)- The Seattle Office of Labor Standards (OLS) investigated Amazon Logistics, Inc. (dba Amazon Flex) for alleged violations of the Gig Worker Premium Pay, Gig Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time, and App-Based Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinances. OLS alleged that Amazon Flex violated the ordinances by only providing premium pay and paid sick and safe time (PSST) to workers when they performed deliveries for Amazon Flex’s food or grocery business lines, and not to workers who performed package deliveries from Amazon’s warehouses. Amazon Flex denied the allegations but agreed to resolve claims under all three ordinances for a total of $3,777,924.10, consisting of settlement payments and PSST credits to 10,968 affected workers and $20,000 in fines to the City of Seattle. Affected workers can expect settlement payments starting around January 1, 2026.
“Gig workers served on the frontlines throughout the pandemic, providing critical services like grocery and food delivery to our vulnerable neighbors and elders,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “These workers remain a valued part of our workforce today and deserve fair pay and protections. As we work to build a fair and equitable gig economy, this settlement shows how Seattle remains committed to protecting the rights of workers and holding companies accountable when they do not meet their legal obligations.”
Amazon Flex is a network company that contracts with workers to deliver items for Amazon business lines. Amazon Flex has thousands of Seattle workers and hundreds of thousands of workers worldwide.
Gig Worker Premium Pay Ordinance:
OLS alleged that between August 27, 2021, and October 31, 2022, Amazon Flex failed to:
- Provide premium pay to gig workers for deliveries with a pick-up and/or drop-off in Seattle that were not for its food/grocery business lines.
Gig Worker PSST and App-Based Worker PSST Ordinances:
OLS alleged that between January 31, 2021, and January 12, 2024, Amazon Flex failed to:
- Establish an accessible system for gig workers to request and use PSST for workers that were not delivering for its food/grocery business lines.
- Provide correct monthly PSST notification to workers that were not delivering for its food/grocery business lines.
“This settlement marks the second largest in OLS history, demonstrating the effectiveness of gig worker protections swiftly put into law during one of the country’s (and Seattle’s) most difficult times. Gig workers provided critical services to our community during the pandemic. While we have safely navigated out of the pandemic, these workers remain critical to the city’s economy now and in the future,” said OLS Director Steven Marchese.
“This settlement proves the power of organizing to win fair pay and dignified workplaces, and the importance of enforcing those wins, especially in the multibillion-dollar food delivery gig economy that has built its wealth on the underpayment of its workforce. Because of that organizing and enforcement, money owed to workers in our city is getting put back in workers’ hands where it belongs despite federal divestment from labor rights enforcement,” said Executive Director of Working Washington Danielle Alvarado.
The Gig Worker Premium Pay and Gig Worker PSST Ordinances were temporary ordinances enacted during the COVID-19 civil emergency to allow gig workers access to extra pay and sick leave benefits. With the lifting of the mayor’s emergency order on October 31, 2022, these two ordinances are no longer in effect.
Between May 1, 2023 and January 12, 2024, the App-Based Worker PSST Ordinance required Food Delivery Network Companies (FDNCs) to provide PSST to app-based workers for qualifying circumstances. On January 13, 2024, the App-Based Worker PSST Ordinance was expanded to apply to all app-based workers performing services for a network company that engages more than 250 workers.
For more information and resources about the App-Based Worker PSST Ordinance and other app-based worker laws, please click here to visit the OLS App-Based Worker Ordinances webpage.
- Help for app-based workers, independent contractors, and the public: to ask a question, file a complaint, or provide information, call 206-256-5297, email laborstandards@seattle.gov, or click here to fill out an online request form.
- Help for network companies: for free and private assistance for compliance with Seattle’s labor standards, call 206-256-5297, email laborstandards@seattle.gov or click here to fill out an online request form.
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