New York state filed a complaint against Amazon Wednesday, alleging discrimination against pregnant women and people with disabilities.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the New York State Division of Human Rights had filed a lawsuit in which Amazon had forced pregnant workers and people with disabilities to take unpaid leave by refusing adequate accommodation.
Dan claims that Amazon has also given permission to a manager to refuse to provide a recommendation made by a designated accommodation consultant.
The complaint cites certain cases where it believes Amazon has violated workers' rights including for its pregnant workers.
In the complaint, it was stated that the pregnant worker had asked for permission not to lift the 11kg weight, but was refused by the manager as a result of which the worker was injured.
Another case in point is that a worker with a disability has provided documentation proving that they must adhere to a certain sleep schedule, but Amazon's managers refuse to change their shifts to accommodate it.
In the third case, a worker with a disability was denied a request to reduce their working hours.
A spokesman for the New York governor's office said the complaint itself was confidential and would trigger an investigation whose results will be made public.
This is not the first time Amazon has been accused of refusing accommodation to pregnant workers. Vice reported in July 2021 that a pregnant warehouse worker had asked for a lighter job but his request was turned down.
The worker also told Vice that his manager repeatedly questioned him about why he took longer breaks in the bathroom.
According to the letter reviewed by Vice, the worker suffered a miscarriage and was denied medical leave by Amazon.
