Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Ruling That Amazon Flex Program Drivers Are Employees

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on March 26 dismissed an appeal from Amazon arguing that the e-commerce giant can classify its delivery drivers as independent contractors. The unanimous decision by the high court let stand a lower court ruling from April 2023 that found some delivery drivers in the Amazon Flex program were employees for purposes of unemployment insurance taxation—as the state Labor and Industry Review Commission argued—and not independent contractors as the online retail giant contended. Amazon had appealed the 2023 ruling. However, in its decision (pdf), the Wisconsin Supreme Court dismissed Amazon’s appeal and called it “improvidently granted,” meaning the Supreme Court should not have reviewed the case....