NEW YORK (AP) – Amazon is suing the New York Attorney General for trying to prevent it from suing the company for its coronavirus security protocols and the dismissal of one of its workers.
In the lawsuit filed Friday in Brooklyn federal court, Amazon said Attorney General Letitia James exceeded her authority by trying to regulate coronavirus security protocols at her warehouse in Staten Island, New York.
The company said James threatened to sue if Amazon disagreed with its list of demands, including hiring the worker, Christian Smalls, and paying large sums of money to him and another fired worker.
James said Friday that he will continue to review his legal options. In a statement, he described Amazon’s lawsuit as “a sad attempt to distract itself from the facts and shirk responsibility for its failures to protect working employees from a deadly virus.”
Amazon defended its COVID-19 security protocols in the lawsuit, saying it hired experts, added hand sanitizer stations and signs warning workers to stay at least 6 feet apart from each other. . It was also said that unannounced inspections conducted in March and April by the New York City sheriff’s office found that the warehouse exceeded security requirements.
Amazon fired Smalls in March after directing an outing to the Staten Island warehouse to push the company to better protect its workers from the virus. Smalls said he was fired in retaliation and to prevent other workers from speaking out. Amazon said it ended Smalls because it violated social distancing guidelines.
The company argued in court documents that only the federal government can require COVID-19 security protocols and that the attorney general’s office does not have the legal authority “it intends to exercise against Amazon.”
Seattle-based Amazon is asking the court to prevent James from pursuing any action against the company and to declare that it has no authority over COVID-19 security measures or to regulate claims against which a employee.