Over 15,000 Amazon Flex Drivers Have Won Arbitration — Average Award $9,000: Why Nevada Law Says They Should Be Employees, Not Contractors
Amazon Flex promotes itself as a side hustle offering flexibility and independence, advertising pay rates of $18 to $25 per hour and encouraging drivers to “be their own boss.” But beneath the marketing is a rigid structure that dictates how, when, and where deliveries are made, while pushing all operating costs onto drivers themselves. That’s not entrepreneurship — that’s employment without protection. And under Nevada law, it may be illegal.
Nevada Revised Statutes section 608.0155 lays out a five-part test to determine whether someone is truly an independent contractor. To qualify, a worker must meet at least three of five criteria related to control over their work, schedule, ability to subcontract, financial investment, and freedom to work for others. Amazon Flex drivers fail all five.
Amazon controls the entire delivery process, including the route, the order of deliveries, scanning packages, and customer contact — all dictated through the app. Drivers have no autonomy in how they perform the work. When it comes to scheduling, drivers must accept fixed delivery blocks (usually two to four hours long) and complete deliveries within those windows or face deactivation. If you're late or cancel too often, your access to blocks is restricted or removed altogether.
While Amazon does not explicitly prohibit working for other apps, its performance scoring system discourages multi-app driving. Frequent cancellations, low completion rates, or lack of availability negatively affect driver ratings and can lead to deactivation. There is no practical freedom to manage your own time or schedule flexibly. Additionally, drivers are prohibited from subcontracting or sharing accounts. Amazon requires that all deliveries be performed by the registered driver — no assistants allowed. Finally, there is no meaningful financial investment involved. Drivers use their personal cars and phones, but they are not required to lease space, buy specialized tools, or obtain commercial insurance. These are the same items nearly every consumer owns already.
Put simply: Amazon Flex drivers are not running their own businesses. They are following orders from an app and bearing the costs. Nevada law makes clear that if a worker fails to meet three of the five criteria, they are presumed to be an employee — entitled to all the protections that status brings.
Do Amazon Flex Drivers Meet Nevada’s Contractor Test?
1. Control Over How the Work Is Done
What the Law Requires: Workers must control how the work is performed — not just the outcome.
Amazon Flex Reality: The Amazon app dictates the entire workflow — routing, scanning, delivery order, and customer notifications.
Result: FAIL
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2. Control Over When the Work Is Done
What the Law Requires: Workers must set their own work schedule, aside from deadlines.
Amazon Flex Reality: Drivers must accept fixed 2- to 4-hour shifts and complete deliveries on Amazon’s clock. Late or missed shifts lead to deactivation.
Result: FAIL
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3. Freedom to Work for Others
What the Law Requires: Workers must be free to work for multiple clients.
Amazon Flex Reality: Though not officially banned, Amazon punishes frequent cancellations or low performance scores, which discourages multi-app driving.
Result: FAIL
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4. Ability to Hire Help
What the Law Requires: Workers must be able to hire assistants or subcontractors.
Amazon Flex Reality: Amazon prohibits account sharing or subcontracting. All work must be performed by the registered driver.
Result: FAIL
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5. Substantial Business Investment
What the Law Requires: Workers must make a significant financial investment in their business (equipment, tools, licenses, workspace, etc.).
Amazon Flex Reality: Drivers use personal vehicles and smartphones — items most already own. No commercial insurance, leased space, or special tools are required.
Result: FAIL
One of the major points of confusion in Amazon's messaging is the driver pay rate. While $18 to $25 per hour may sound attractive, that’s gross pay — before expenses. In reality, net pay can fall well below that once gas, wear and tear, and other costs are deducted. Take a typical 3-hour shift: A driver might earn $54 in gross pay. For a 45-mile delivery route, they’ll burn about 1.8 gallons of gas — costing around $7.92 at $4.40/gallon. Add in roughly $9.90 in wear and tear (using a conservative $0.22/mile rate), plus another $1.50 for phone data and insurance bump, and the total cost comes to $19.32. That leaves the driver with $34.68 in net pay, or about $11.56 per hour — before taxes.
That’s assuming everything goes smoothly. In reality, delays, heavier routes, and gas price spikes can drop hourly pay into the single digits. And drivers are not compensated for wait times, traffic, or returning undelivered packages — all of which are required by Amazon and can consume unpaid hours.
Flex drivers across the country have already begun winning legal recognition of their true employment status. More than 15,750 drivers have filed individual arbitration claims against Amazon in California, Illinois, and Massachusetts, alleging misclassification and unpaid wages. In the first eight test cases, drivers won seven, with average awards of about $9,000 each. In Wisconsin, the state Supreme Court upheld a ruling that Flex drivers are employees for unemployment purposes. In Washington, D.C., Amazon paid $3.95 million to settle claims that it misused driver tips to offset base pay — a tactic that would be unlawful if the workers were employees. And in states like Virginia, labor authorities have determined that Flex drivers qualify for unemployment insurance — a benefit generally reserved for employees, not independent contractors.
Flex drivers in Nevada are likely owed back pay, expense reimbursement, and employee protections under state law. Drivers who suspect they’ve been misclassified can file a complaint with the Nevada Labor Commissioner.
Amazon’s model is profitable because it shifts liability and cost away from the company and onto the people doing the work. But Nevada law provides a clear definition of what an employee is — and by every standard in the statute, Amazon Flex drivers meet that definition. They deserve the legal protections, fair compensation, and dignity that employment status is meant to ensure.
Legal Victories Across the U.S.
Amazon’s classification of Flex drivers is already facing — and losing — legal challenges:
15,750 Flex drivers filed arbitration claims in California, Illinois, and Massachusetts.
Result: Drivers have won 7 out of 8 trials, with an average payout of $9,000.
Source: https://www.cohenmilstein.com/amazon-flex-drivers-file-thousands-of-wage-hour-actions-against-amazon/
Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld a ruling declaring Flex drivers employees for unemployment insurance.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/fafa8b40f053545159252e747b2e176b
In Washington, D.C., Amazon paid $3.95 million to settle claims that it illegally used driver tips to fund base pay.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/amazon-flex-delivery-driver-tips-dc-1c622ac451ce3f88d7cbec30567097e7
Virginia and other states have ruled Flex drivers eligible for unemployment benefits — another signal they are misclassified.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informational and journalistic purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The author is not an attorney. If you are an Amazon Flex driver and believe your classification or pay violates state or federal law, you should consult a qualified attorney or contact the Nevada Labor Commissioner directly.