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Amazon is being accused of secretly halting its fastest delivery service in two predominantly Black neighborhoods.
On Wednesday (December 4), the District of Columbia filed a complaint against Amazon, alleging the company discriminated against two low-income, predominately-Black zip codes when it secretly stopped providing residents with the benefits of its Prime services, per the Associated Press.
Amazon's Prime membership provides the company's fastest deliveries, including one-day, two-day, and same-day shipments. For the membership, consumers pay roughly $139 per year or $14.99 monthly.
According to the lawsuit, Amazon imposed a delivery "exclusion" on ZIP codes 20019 and 20020 in 2022, relying solely on third-party delivery services, including UPS and USPS, to fulfill its orders, rather than its own delivery system. The exclusion resulted in slower deliveries for the predominately Black neighborhoods.
Amazon said it made the change based on safety concerns.
“There have been specific and targeted acts against drivers delivering Amazon packages” in the two ZIP codes and the company made the change to “put the safety of delivery drivers first,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement.
“We made the deliberate choice to adjust our operations, including delivery routes and times, for the sole reason of protecting the safety of drivers,” she continued. “The claims made by the attorney general, that our business practices are somehow discriminatory or deceptive, are categorically false.”
However, the District of Columbia's attorney general's office accused the company of hiding the change from new and existing Prime members in the two ZIP codes, which affected nearly 50,000 people.
“Amazon is charging tens of thousands of hard-working Ward 7 and 8 residents for an expedited delivery service it promises but does not provide,” District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in a statement. “While Amazon has every right to make operational changes, it cannot covertly decide that a dollar in one ZIP code is worth less than a dollar in another."
The lawsuit also notes that residents in the two ZIP codes are more likely to rely on Amazon since they have fewer services and retail stores nearby.
Prior to Amazon's "exclusion," over 72 percent of Prime packages in the impacted areas were delivered within two days, according to the suit. Last, year, it was only 24 percent.
The company “deceptively implied” that the delays “were simply due to natural fluctuations in shipping circumstances, rather than an affirmative decision by Amazon,” the lawsuit states.
District officials are seeking restitution or damages for the affected Prime members and civil penalties.
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