New York has just filed a lawsuit against Amazon, saying it showed a “flagrant disregard” for COVID-19 safety rules and retaliated against employees who complained. Attorney general Letitia James stated that “Amazon failed to properly disinfect two of its facilities and follow proper contact tracing procedures for sick employee”. “Amazon’s extreme profits and exponential growth rate came at the expense of the lives, health, and safety of its frontline workers,” she argued in the New York supreme court.
Amazon responded by filing an injunction to stop the lawsuit and said it disagreed with the suit. “We don’t believe the attorney general’s filing presents an accurate picture of Amazon’s industry-leading response to the pandemic,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel told the NYT, adding that the company cared “deeply about the health and safety” of its employees.
The lawsuit contained claims that Amazon had been notified of at least 250 employees who had contracted COVID-19, and 90 of those had worked the previous week. It also claimed that Amazon didn’t interview employees to see who they came in contact with, relying instead on surveillance footage. It argued that Amazon retaliated against worker Christian Smalls, saying he was fired after raising safety concerns and leading a protest at Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse.
“Amazon employees reasonably fear that if they make legitimate health and safety complaints about Amazon’s COVID-19 response, Amazon will retaliate against them as well,” according to the suit. The state is asking Amazon to change its policies, conduct training, and undergo monitoring, among other measures.
TECH NEWS>>>>Opera’s Latest Online Shopping Cashback Service Is Built Directly Into Its Browser
