Amazon was sued on Wednesday in a proposed class motion saying the retailer topics 1000's of warehouse staff with disabilities to a “punitive” coverage governing office absences.
Amazon, the biggest private-sector US employer behind Walmart, was accused of docking unpaid day without work when it orders New York staff searching for lodging for disabilities to remain house, after which threatening to fireplace them for lacking an excessive amount of work.
“Amazon's practices chill staff' train of their authorized rights, as a result of staff justifiably concern they too might be disciplined and fired in the event that they request cheap lodging,” in keeping with the criticism filed in federal courtroom in Manhattan.
The Seattle-based retailer had no speedy remark.
Amazon allegedly sends intimidating emails
The lawsuit is led by Cayla Lyster, who works at an Amazon warehouse close to Syracuse, NY, and mentioned she has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective-tissue dysfunction.
Lyster mentioned Amazon repeatedly put her on unpaid depart, as soon as for almost six weeks, whereas it reviewed her requests for a chair to sit down on, not having to climb ladders and different lodging, whereas supervisors berated her for searching for assist.
She mentioned Amazon's “punitive absence management system” topics staff who incur an excessive amount of unpaid depart, even when the legislation permits, to emails demanding they justify their absences inside 48 hours or threat being fired.
These emails “intimidate and threaten staff who've exercised their rights to request cheap lodging,” Lyster mentioned.
New Jersey sued final month
The lawsuit seeks damages for all hourly warehouse employees in New York state over the past three years who sought, or meant to hunt, lodging for his or her disabilities.
“Staff shouldn't ever want to decide on between their security and their paycheck,” mentioned Inimai Chettiar, president of A Higher Steadiness, a office authorized advocacy group that helped file the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed three weeks after New Jersey Legal professional Basic Matthew Platkin sued Amazon, saying it usually denies cheap lodging requests, and repeatedly places pregnant employees and employees with disabilities on unpaid depart.
Amazon denied Platkin's claims, and mentioned it approves greater than 99% of requests for pregnancy-related lodging.
The case is Lyster v Amazon.com Providers LLC, U.S. District Courtroom, Southern District of New York, No. 25-09423.
