@invalid , @sns . That is the argument they’ve been using since the beginning of their problems - that they are an "express delivery company," with "express drivers," and not a "ground delivery company."
Uber, Lyft, et al. use the same argument in their battles (with mixed results). They claim they are a technology company that CONNECTS riders and drivers through their app - not a transportation company, so what the drivers are doing is not in their "usual course of business," (one of the key concepts). What they did, though, is stall around with all the states knowing that when they had enough drivers and users, THEY would turn into their army to pressure states to change their thinking, and it has worked in many states.
Amazon learned from Fedex’s mistakes. From the beginning, they "tricked" (in my view) many employees (and non-employees) to "start their own lucrative business" as delivery services for Amazon. They had them start separate delivery companies, hire drivers (who, by the way are trained by Amazon) to contract SOLELY with Amazon, and one of the conditions of the contract was that they must treat all drivers as employees. That way, if there are any labor issues, including unemployment claims, it’s the delivery company on the hook.
There are efforts by some drivers to make the delivery companies and Amazon JOINT employers, but that’s a tough haul. Also note that the above applies to the people driving the blue trucks. Amazon also utilizes "independent contractors" similar to DoorDash, etc., they call Amazon Flex. They are the ones that drive their own cars and do "last minute deliveries," etc. outside the normally scheduled blue truck drivers.