State seeks treble damages and court order barring alleged practices
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, alleges Amazon violated federal and state antitrust laws through its Delivery Service Partner, or DSP, program. The complaint argues the company exercises an unlawful monopsony — a dominant buyer’s ability to dictate prices and terms — over its delivery contractors. Unlike traditional monopoly cases centered on consumer prices, the state contends Amazon wielded its buying power to hold down compensation by making DSPs almost entirely dependent on the company, which it says dictates routes, hiring, pay, performance standards, and other aspects of their operations.
Amazon has long maintained that DSPs are independent businesses that operate their own companies and employ their own drivers. New Jersey alleges the contractors have little ability to negotiate or seek other customers. Davenport, in a statement, said her office is “acting to stand up for thousands of New Jersey delivery drivers who are being exploited every day by one of the world’s biggest, richest corporations.”
“As our complaint alleges, Amazon built a company worth trillions while subjecting drivers in its delivery network to artificially low pay and punishing working conditions thanks to its overwhelming power in the labor market,” Davenport said. “I will continue to fight monopolies and the devastating effects they have on our residents.”
The complaint alleges DSP drivers earn substantially less than workers at United Parcel Service, FedEx, and the U.S. Postal Service while working under demanding conditions that include constant electronic monitoring, opaque performance metrics, and pressure to meet delivery quotas. It also alleges Amazon maintained policies that effectively prevented drivers from moving between contractors, limiting competition for labor and keeping wages below competitive levels.
On unionization, the state alleges Amazon discouraged organizing by terminating or threatening to terminate delivery contractors whose workers attempted to organize, and restricted competition among contractors through policies that stopped them from recruiting each other’s drivers. The complaint points to organizing efforts at an Amazon delivery station in Queens, New York, where the state alleges Amazon reduced routes, laid off workers, and ultimately terminated a contractor after union activity.
New Jersey and 16 other states sued Amazon in 2023, alleging the company used anticompetitive and unfair strategies. In 2024, the District of Columbia sued the company, alleging it denied two neighborhoods high-speed delivery services.