Amazon Lawsuit: Why The E-Commerce Giant Is Being Sued Over Its Handling Of COVID

Amazon (AMZN) has found itself under more scrutiny over its workplace safety standards during the COVID pandemic.

The e-commerce giant is being sued by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who claims that the company failed to protect workers at two facilities in New York City during the pandemic.

James was first sued by Amazon last week for probing into the company’s workers’ COVID protection practices after it passed an unannounced inspection at one of its facilities on March 30, the New York Post reported.

Amazon filed the suit to stop James from moving forward with any legal action against the company, saying that “the Sheriff’s lieutenant who led the inspection concluded that complaints about JFK8 were ‘completely baseless’ and that ‘there were absolutely no areas of concern.’”

The attorney general fired back at Amazon with a lawsuit filed in a New York state court in Manhattan on Tuesday, saying that the company “repeatedly and persistently failed” to adequately protect workers at warehouses located in Staten Island and Queens, according to the court filing obtained by the New York Post.

“Since at least March 2020 when the COVID-19 outbreak began to devastate New York City, Amazon failed to comply with requirements for cleaning and disinfection when infected workers had been present in its facilities,” the suit said.

James continued in her lawsuit by saying, “Amazon failed to adequately identify and notify potential contacts of such infected workers; and Amazon failed to ensure that its discipline and productivity policies, and productivity rates automated by line-speeds, permitted its employees to take the time necessary to engage in hygiene, sanitation, social-distancing, and necessary cleaning practices.”

The lawsuit filed by James also mentions Christian Smalls, who she claims was retaliated against and fired last March after he violated a paid quarantine by leading a protest over conditions at a Staten Island warehouse, Reuters reported.

In the lawsuit, James said that Amazon profited more than $130 billion in sales during the pandemic – a 35% growth from pre-pandemic earnings and a 10% increase from prior years – while workers were exposed to the virus due to the alleged conditions at the facilities.

Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon, told the Post that James’ claims are inaccurate.

Nantel added, “We care deeply about the health and safety of our employees, as demonstrated in our filing last week, and we don’t believe the Attorney General’s filing presents an accurate picture of Amazon’s industry-leading response to the pandemic.”

During the height of the pandemic, Amazon came under fire for working conditions at its warehouses across the country as demand was at an all-time high as consumers sought out essential items from the company. Workers staged protests calling for better workplace protections, pay, and sick leave.

Amazon has said that it routinely tests its workers for COVID. Last fall, it announced that it was ramping up to 50,000 tests a day across 650 sites. As of October, more than 19,800 Amazon employees had tested positive for the virus, according to the company.

Through the lawsuit, James is seeking to have Amazon upgrade its protection for workers, reinstate Smalls, and pay him damages, as well as other workers that she contends were retaliated against.

Shares of Amazon were trading at $3,269.50 as of premarket hours on Wednesday, up 55 cents of 0.02%.