Amazon sued New York Attorney General Letitia James on Friday to prevent potential legal action in connection with its COVID-19 security protocols and the dismissal of an employee who staged an outing last spring.
The retail giant was set on fire at the start of the New York pandemic, while workers, including Chris Smalls, protested against conditions in its Staten Island warehouse – prompting an investigation by the James office.
Smalls, a management assistant, said he was fired after organizing a strike in March as COVID-19 began to spread among warehouse employees.
In its complaint in federal court in Brooklyn, Amazon accused James of exceeding its limits by launching the survey, which found that the company violated safety requirements and threatened legal action.
James previously called Smalls’ dismissal “shameful” and said her office was considering all legal options, while urging the National Labor Relations Committee to investigate.
Amazon claimed in the lawsuit that its coronavirus safety practices “far exceeded” what was required by the state at the time – and that an unannounced inspection on March 30, the day of departure, proved the same.
The sheriff’s lieutenant who led the inspection concluded that the complaints about JFK8 were “completely unfounded” and that “there was absolutely no area of concern,” the lawsuit said, referring to the Staten Island enforcement center.
In November, Smalls filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of black and Hispanic workers, alleging that Amazon endangered.
Amazon said it fired Smalls for repeatedly violating social distance requirements and paid quarantine leave, court papers show.
In a statement, James doubled down on his claims, saying, “During this pandemic, Amazon employees were forced to work in unsafe conditions, while the company and CEO pulled billions from behind.”
“This action by Amazon is nothing more than a sad attempt to distract from the facts and avoid responsibility for its failures to protect workers from a deadly virus,” she continued. “Let me be clear: we will not be intimidated by anyone, especially by corporate aggressors who put profits on the health and safety of working people. We remain uneasy in our efforts to protect workers from exploitation and will continue to consider all our legal options. ”
More than 19,000 – or 1.44 percent of Amazon employees in the United States – have contracted COVID-19 since September, the company said.
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