Three Amazon delivery drivers have claimed that they were forced to urinate in bottles and defecate in dog waste bags in order to keep up with the company’s grueling schedule.
The drivers have filed a class action lawsuit claiming they were subject to “inhumane” working conditions that saw them go to the toilet in their work vans, reports the Mail Online.
The suit claims that the drivers “often restrained themselves of using the restroom at risk of serious health consequences”.
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The suit continued: “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.”
The lawsuit claims that the tech giant has violated Colorado state law, which stipulates that employers must provide workers with paid breaks every four hours.
The suit claims that there are trash cans “full of urine-filled bottles” near where Amazon delivery drivers finish their shifts and at gas stations near the company’s facilities.
“Amazon delivery vans frequently smell of urine because bottles full of urine often spill on the floor of the vehicle,” it adds.
One plaintiff, Ryan Schilling, an Iraq War veteran, says he was forced to defecate into a dog waste bag in the back of his delivery van. The suit claims that Schilling “often found it more difficult to find time to take care of his basic human needs while working as an Amazon DSP driver in Colorado than he did while serving in active combat for the U.S. military”.
Schilling claims that he was sometimes required to make 200 stops a day and deliver more than 500 packages.
Plaintiff Marco Granger-Rivera says he had to urinate in a bottle “every day” while working for the company. At points, the suit claims, Mr Granger-Rivera had been “on the verge of urinating and defecating in his pants”.
A third plaintiff, Lea Cross, claimed that her “typical female anatomy” made it more difficult to urinate in a battle while working, which she claims violates Colorado’s Anti-Discrimination Act.
She claims that she would attempt to locate bathrooms on her delivery route but was quickly warned that she was off course, and was allegedly “admonished” by a supervisor who “told her not to break her route”. She was reportedly fired for failing to keep up with the delivery schedule.
Amazon denied the lawsuit’s claims, telling the Daily Mail: “We want to make it clear that we encourage our Delivery Service Partners to support their drivers.
“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 plaintiffs are seeking a change in Amazon’s policies, along with unspecified unpaid wages and penalties.
