NY Files Worker Discrimination Suit Against Amazon
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced Wednesday the state's Division of Human Rights filed a complaint against Amazon, alleging the company discriminates against pregnant workers and employees with disabilities by denying them reasonable accommodations. Amazon has policies that force pregnant workers and those with disabilities to take an unpaid leave of absence rather than allowing them to work with a reasonable accommodation, the complaint said.
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Amazon, which operates 23 work sites with over 39,000 workers in New York, employs in-house "Accommodation Consultants" to evaluate such requests and recommend appropriate action, said the complaint. Amazon's policy of allowing worksite managers to override the recommendations made by a consultant caused employees to be denied reasonable accommodations for their disabilities and pregnancy-related conditions, it claimed.
The complaint also alleged Amazon's accommodation forced employees with disabilities to take unpaid medical leave even in situations where the consultant identified a reasonable accommodation that would allow the employee to perform the essential functions of the position without an undue burden. The complaint cited a pregnant worker who requested and was approved to receive “a reasonable accommodation to avoid lifting packages over 25 pounds,” but her manager “refused to follow the accommodation -- forcing the worker to continue lifting heavy packages.”
The pregnant worker suffered an injury while lifting heavy packages, the complaint alleged, and the worker required further accommodations as a result of the injury. “Amazon denied the request and forced the pregnant worker into indefinite unpaid leave,” it said. The division also alleged an Amazon worker was “improperly denied” after requesting a modified work schedule due to a disability involving a specific sleep schedule supported by medical documentation.
An Amazon spokesperson emailed that the company was "surprised" by Gov. Hochel's announcement "because we’ve been cooperating and working closely with her investigator on this matter and had no indication a complaint was coming." Amazon is in no position to comment further since it hasn't received the complaint yet, she said. “Ensuring all our employees, including those with disabilities and expectant mothers, feel safe and supported is extremely important to Amazon and we have numerous programs to ensure that’s the case," she said: "While we don't always get it right with a workforce of over 1.6 million people, we work diligently to offer the best available options to accommodate individual situations."