A lawsuit from the Washington, D.C., attorney general is alleging that Amazon deliveries are slower in two majority-Black zip codes in the nation’s capital.
The lawsuit, from D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, alleges that the tech giant quietly restricted delivery methods for members of its Prime program “living in two East of the River (EOTR) zip codes—20019 and 20020” a little more than two years ago. At the time, the company allegedly put in place something it refers to as a delivery "exclusion” for the zip codes.
The company then started to only use other delivery services in the areas instead of Amazon delivery services, according to the lawsuit.
“Amazon’s decision has led to a significant decrease in the speed and quality of Prime service District residents in these excluded EOTR zip codes have been receiving when compared to the speed and quality of delivery that (1) they received prior to Amazon’s selfstyled exclusion, and (2) Prime members receive in District zip codes not subject to Amazon’s exclusion,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit also notes that Amazon promises Prime subscribers will get “speedy Two-Day, One-Day, and Same-Day package delivery.”
“For the past two-and-a-half years, Amazon has deliberately—and secretly—stopped providing its fastest delivery service to the nearly 50,000 Prime members who live in historically underserved communities east of the Anacostia River,” the lawsuit states.
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, about 89 percent of people in the area of the 20019 zip code are Black, while about 90 percent of people in the area of the 20020 zip code are Black.
In a statement emailed to The Hill, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said “claims made by the Attorney General, that our business practices are somehow discriminatory or deceptive, are categorically false.”
“In the zip codes in question, there have been specific and targeted acts against drivers delivering Amazon packages,” Nantel said. “We made the deliberate choice to adjust our operations, including delivery routes and times, for the sole reason of protecting the safety of drivers.”
Nantel also said Amazon is “always transparent with customers during the shopping journey and checkout process about when, exactly, they can expect their orders to arrive.”
This story was updated at 12:59 p.m.
