United States: New York State sues Amazon for discrimination

Amazon employees in New York, December 21, 2016 (illustration image).

AP - Bebeto Matthews

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

In the United States, Amazon is being sued by the State of New York for discrimination.

The legal proceedings were initiated by the state agency in charge of civil rights enforcement.

Thus, pregnant employees and those with disabilities would in particular be forced to take unpaid sick leave even though adjustments to their workplace could avoid such situations.

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Team leaders frequently ignore recommendations made internally, according to the federal agency.

The complaint cites the example of a pregnant employee forced by her supervisor to lift packages weighing more than 11 kilos.

A situation that would have caused an injury and a work stoppage.

Period during which the woman would not have been paid.

Amazon is surprised

Another example cited, an employee benefiting from a medical opinion on his sleep pattern, who would have been prohibited from exchanging his working hours with one of his colleagues.

Amazon is surprised.

The company says it has many programs in place to ensure that every employee feels supported.

However, she points out that with a workforce of 1.6 million people, she does not always succeed.

The law must be obeyed 

Regardless of the size of the employer, retorts the agency, the law must be respected.

This isn't the first time the Seattle giant has been sued.

Amazon warehouse workers suffered more than 34,000 workplace accidents in 2021. That's twice as many as elsewhere in the United States. 

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