Amazon Lawsuit 2020: Workers File Lawsuit Against E-Commerce Giant Over COVID-19 Working Conditions

Amazon (AMZN) has reportedly found itself involved in a lawsuit, which was filed by a group of warehouse workers that claim the e-commerce giant put them at risk because of the working conditions at its fulfillment centers during the coronavirus pandemic.

In the lawsuit, one worker claimed that they contracted COVID-19 at the company’s Staten Island distribution center, where workers “were explicitly or implicitly encouraged to continue attending work and prevented from adequately washing their hands or sanitizing their workstations,” Bloomberg reported.

One month later, the worker’s family member reportedly displayed COVID-19 symptoms and died. The plaintiffs in the case are not seeking damages for illness or death but instead asking for an injunction to force Amazon to follow public health guidelines, the news outlet said.

This is not the first lawsuit that Amazon has been involved with over working conditions at its fulfillment centers during the coronavirus pandemic. The company has come under fire for its safety measures as it ramped up its workforce by 175,000 employees to meet the onslaught of demand caused by consumers stocking up on essential items from its website.

Employees at Amazon have staged walkout protests asking for hazard pay, better working conditions, and more COVID-19 testing. Amazon paid its workers $2 per hour extra during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, which expired at the end of May. The company said it has spent $800 million in the first two quarters of the year on safety measures.

Shares of Amazon stock were down 0.50% as of 12:45 p.m. EDT on Thursday.