The complaint from the National Labor Relations Board claims that Amazon is a so-called “joint employer” of drivers employed by the contractor, Battle Tested Strategies (BTS), and used a series of illegal tactics to discourage union activities at a facility in Palmdale, California.

BTS drivers voted to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union last year, becoming the first Amazon delivery contractors to unionize.

The NLRB in the complaint, which was issued on Monday, said Amazon broke the law by terminating its contract with BTS after the drivers unionized without first bargaining with the Teamsters.

The board in August had said that it had found merit to the union’s claims that Amazon exerts control over BTS drivers and should be considered their employer under federal labor law. The NLRB at the time said it would issue a complaint unless Amazon settled the case.

Last month, the board said it planned to issue a second complaint involving a different group of Amazon drivers.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has said in the past that it does not have enough control over drivers’ working conditions to be considered their joint employer.

Joint employment has been one of the most contentious U.S. labor issues over the last decade, and the NLRB’s standard for determining when companies qualify as joint employers has shifted numerous times since the Obama administration. Business groups favor a test that requires direct and immediate control over workers, while unions and Democrats back a standard that covers indirect forms of control.

The case will be heard by an administrative judge in Los Angeles, who is scheduled to hold an initial hearing next March. The judge’s decision can be reviewed by the five-member NLRB, whose rulings can be appealed to federal court.

A ruling that Amazon is a joint employer under federal labor law could be applied in cases involving other Amazon contractors and force the company to bargain with drivers’ unions.

The board, meanwhile, is facing claims by a growing number of companies, including Amazon, that its structure and in-house enforcement proceedings violate the U.S. Constitution.

Amazon has filed a lawsuit against the board seeking to block it from deciding whether the company must bargain with a union representing workers at a New York City warehouse. A federal appeals court on Monday temporarily blocked the NLRB from ruling while it reviews Amazon’s claims.

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“This contractor created an unfair advantage for himself when he allegedly created fraudulent certificates to secure contracts. This work could have gone to other businesses who follow the rules. Instead he put the clients that trusted him at risk,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “My Department is committed to investigating insurance fraud to protect Californians and level the playing field for hardworking business owners who are the engine of our continued economic recovery.”

The California Department of Insurance began an investigation after a licensed insurance agent reported they had received a copy of a fraudulent certificate of insurance, which had been issued in the agent’s name, and contained a forgery of his signature.

The investigation revealed that Deniz created the alleged fraudulent certificate and nine other fraudulent certificates of insurance between May of 2018 and July of 2020. Each of the fraudulent certificates contained false information about insurance coverage, as well as a forged signature from a licensed insurance agent. Deniz submitted the fraudulent certificates to his clients and to government agencies, in order to convince them he had the required insurance coverage. These fraudulent certificates allowed Deniz to unfairly secure several lucrative plumbing jobs and government permits related to those jobs, which he would have otherwise been unable to secure.

While investigating the fraudulent certificates, Department investigators also discovered that Deniz underreported his company’s payroll from July of 2016 through July of 2019. A review found he allegedly underreported payroll by $426,750 in order to avoid paying $52,269 in insurance premiums to the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

The case is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Healthcare Fraud Division. Deniz is scheduled to return to court on May 25, 2022.

CDI Press | Contributed

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