The Trump Administration's Labor Commission is pushing for a settlement in the Amazon.com, Inc. contractor case, signaling a turning point.

The US federal government is working towards settling a case with Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) involving a group of delivery drivers that has been ongoing for years, in order to avoid a potentially landmark ruling that would determine Amazon.com, Inc. as the actual employer of some long-term workers that it has consistently claimed are not employees. Since 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been suing Amazon.com, Inc., accusing it of violating the rights of a group of drivers. These drivers were employed by a former "delivery service partner" of the company - Battle-Tested Strategies (BTS), a contractor based in Paramount, California. In this case, the NLRB's general counsel argues that Amazon.com, Inc. is a "joint employer" of these drivers, meaning that Amazon.com, Inc. has enough control over them to be responsible for their treatment, and has an obligation to engage in collective bargaining once they join the Teamsters Union. The government alleges that Amazon.com, Inc. refusing to bargain with the union is also illegal. Last September, at the start of a hearing in Los Angeles presided over by an NLRB judge, the government side argued that Amazon.com, Inc. exerted "overwhelming control" over its subcontracted drivers, and that the contractors who paid the drivers were "essentially controlled delivery companies created under the direction and assistance of Amazon.com, Inc." Amazon.com, Inc. denied any wrongdoing, refused to comply with the government's subpoena on whether it was a joint employer, calling it a "fishing expedition," and accusing the labor board of improperly investigating the case. The testimonial phase of the trial, originally scheduled to resume on April 13, has now been put on hold. Last Sunday, a lawyer for the NLRB general counsel submitted a proposed settlement to the presiding judge to end the case. According to a copy of the settlement agreement seen, Amazon.com, Inc. will pay up to 84 workers employed by BTS two weeks' worth of wages, but will not admit to any wrongdoing or be deemed a joint employer. If the settlement is approved, it would resolve one of the most significant cases against Amazon.com, Inc. by the agency. The case could have potentially led to a ruling by an administrative law judge, a NLRB member in Washington, or even a federal appeals court judge for the first time that Amazon.com, Inc. is a joint employer of some drivers of its delivery service partners. Currently, Amazon.com, Inc. has contracts with thousands of such partners, overseeing hundreds of thousands of delivery workers. Amazon.com, Inc. and the NLRB did not immediately comment on Sunday evening. The agency's shift in position comes after Donald Trump reshaped it. Trump appointed Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP partner Kristo Kaye as the NLRB general counsel, whose clients include Amazon.com, Inc. In January of this year, Kaye took on the role of chief prosecutor at the NLRB, a position with wide powers over which cases the agency investigates and how. In a February interview, Kaye said that because she had not personally represented Amazon.com, Inc. for the past year and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP had not represented Amazon.com, Inc. in the Paramount case, she did not need to recuse herself. She stated that recusal requests are "case-specific."