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Amazon will no longer use drivers' tips to cover their base pay
Amazon has pledged to be more transparent and to tell its its Flex delivery drivers how much they actually earn, according to an email sent to contractors as seen by the LA Times. Perhaps more importantly, the e-commerce giant will no longer dip into drivers' tips to cover their base pay. LA Times reported earlier this year that the company used drivers' supplemental earnings to fulfill the $18-to-$25-per-hour base pay they're guaranteed.
The delivery drivers weren't aware of the practice due to the lack of transparency. They weren't told how much of the money they get came from tips, so some of them had to experiment by ordering items themselves to figure out what was going on. Going forward, based on Amazon's email, the company will start sending them a fare breakdown for their shift, showing how much their base pay is and how much tips they got.
"While earnings vary by region and block, with the change to Amazon's minimum contribution, we expect nationwide average earnings for these blocks to increase to more than $27 per hour," the email reportedly read.
This is similar to DoorDash, who was recently called out for using driver's tips to fulfill the minimum wage that the company guaranteed.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by anubi on Monday August 26 2019, @12:45AM (6 children)
It's a gratuity. A little token of appreciation.
It's not a purchase.
To me, it seems terribly wrong to even think of taxing tips... much less consider them a wage.
And, no, I am not wait staff. If I want to give somebody something, especially something of a token nature, it's between me and them.
I've already paid the tax on that money.
Might as well tax weddings, birthdays, and Christmases. Those are gifts too.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @02:27AM (1 child)
To make sure the tip goes where intended (the person providing the service), I usually tip in cash. As soon as the tip is added to a credit card receipt, or any other (e)payment, there's no way of knowing where it goes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @02:49AM
Yep. I do the same. Then the person I give the tip to can decide for themselves how much of it they want to share. If they don't want to share with the boss then I'm OK with that. Considering that this is being done with the government's blessing, then if they don't want to share with Uncle Sam I'm OK with that too. Screw everyone who is complicit in this abomination.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @02:58AM
"I've already paid tax on this money."
You don't understand how taxation works, do you?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @03:44AM (2 children)
The law techically *DOES* require taxes paid on all those 'gifts' you mentioned.
It just happens that the majority of them are so priced that the paperwork to do so has never been feasible, and if nobody tells, the tax men don't know. Expect to see it go the way of automated speed ticketing in the near future. They will slowly start analyzing purchases and gifts and cracking down even on the lower priced ones.
As it is right now if you get a gift over a hundred dollars that isn't a consumable, make sure you check state and federal tax regulations to ensure you don't need to report it and pay taxes on it. The exact tax involved varies by jurisdiction when applicable.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 26 2019, @08:49AM
Geez, some "loved one" could get me all snared up with the feds by gifting me something I didn't want that much anyway. Maybe if the Government brings it up, maybe it will put a damper on all this holiday spending, where someone buys a bunch of crap for me, then I feel I have to reciprocate in kind.
If the merchants start yelling "Grinch", we can show photos of the politicians who failed to roll back that law. It'd be so cool to hear a politician erupt "Vote for Me! I'll Fight for You!", Followed by howls of laughter, cat-calls, and Bronx Cheers.
(Score: 3, Informative) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Monday August 26 2019, @02:48PM
Actually, the tax men have the *entire database of what everyone pays* and can easily run searches for outliers. I know many bartenders whose operative practice is report everything normal lest one shows up as a blip on the audit radar. A bartender who says "0 tips!" is begging for an audit *** unless every other bartender who's worked in that location report 0 and/or you can solidly prove there's a no-tip policy ***.
You don't have to pay what you earned. You had better pay within some degrees of standard deviation what everyone else does.
This sig for rent.