(CNN Business) –– New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday a discrimination lawsuit against Amazon, saying the e-commerce giant failed to provide reasonable accommodations in its warehouses for pregnant workers and employees with disabilities, as required by state law. of human rights.
The lawsuit, which was filed privately by the state Human Rights Division on Wednesday, points to Amazon’s alleged violation of state law by giving its workplace managers the power to override reasonable accommodation recommendations by Amazon. internal company officials, known as accommodation consultants, who review requests.
In one of the multiple cases mentioned in the lawsuit, according to Hochul’s office, New York officials alleged that a pregnant Amazon employee had to take unpaid leave after being injured on the job lifting packages weighing more than 11 kilograms, despite having an approved accommodation that exempted her from heavy lifting.
Hochul’s office said the lawsuit “seeks a decision requiring Amazon to cease discriminatory conduct, to adopt non-discriminatory policies and practices regarding the review of reasonable accommodation requests, to train its employees on the provisions of the Human Rights and to pay civil fines and penalties to the State of New York.”
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As the nation’s second-largest private employer, Amazon is known for its ultra-efficient warehouses that depend, in part, on closely monitoring worker productivity. In that regard, the company has faced scrutiny for high turnover rates and workplace injuries in recent years. The pandemic, during which Amazon workers were deemed essential, only exacerbated concerns about working conditions.
But the company has also faced growing pushback from some workers and regulators during the pandemic, including in New York. Amazon has faced unionization efforts at two warehouse facilities in New York City, which recently garnered enough support to hold elections. Workers at the largest facility, known as JFK8, successfully voted to do so, becoming the first company employees to formally unionize in the United States. Amazon disputes the results.
Earlier this month, a New York appeals court dismissed a lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Letitia James over the company’s response to the pandemic. Morgan Rubin, James’s office’s first assistant secretary for public health, said in a statement to CNN Business last week: “As our office reviews the decision and our options moving forward, Attorney General James remains committed to protecting workers from Amazon, and all workers, from unfair treatment.”
Amazon had previously appealed the claims in James’ lawsuit. “We care deeply about the health and safety of our employees,” the company said in a previous statement. “We do not believe that the attorney general’s lawsuit presents an accurate picture of Amazon’s leadership response in the industry during the pandemic.”
Meanwhile, after pressure from shareholders, Amazon revealed in a filing last month that it would conduct an audit to “assess any disparate racial impact” of its policies on its hourly US employees.
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