Amazon on Friday sued New York Attorney General Letitia James for avoiding possible legal action over its COVID-19 security protocols and the dismissal of an employee who organized a ride last spring.
The retail giant was set on fire at the start of the pandemic in New York while workers, including Chris Smalls, were protesting the conditions of its Staten Island warehouse, prompting an investigation by James’ office.
Smalls, a management assistant, said it was stopped after organizing the strike in March as COVID-19 began to spread among warehouse employees.
In the Brooklyn federal court complaint, Amazon accused James of exceeding its limits by launching the probe, which found the company was violating security requirements and threatening legal action.
James previously called Smalls’ shooting “shameful” and said his office was considering all legal options, while asking the National Labor Relations Board to investigate.
Amazon claimed in the lawsuit that its coronavirus security practices “far exceeded” what the state demanded at the time – and that an unannounced inspection on March 30, the day of departure, proved to be 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 compliance center.
In November, Smalls filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Hispanic and black workers claiming that Amazon was putting them at risk.
Amazon said it fired Smalls for repeatedly violating social distancing requirements and a paid quarantine permit, court papers report.
In a statement, James doubled down on his claims and said, “Throughout this pandemic, Amazon employees have been forced to work in unsafe conditions, while the company and its CEO were fired. billions of their backs “.
“This action by Amazon is nothing more than a sad attempt to distract from the facts and shirk responsibility for their failures to protect working employees from a deadly virus,” he continued. “Make it clear: no one will intimidate us, especially corporate bullies who put benefits on the health and safety of working people. We continue to strive to protect workers from exploitation and will continue to review all of our legal options. “
More than 19,000, or 1.44 percent of Amazon workers in the United States, have hired COVID-19 as of September, the company said.
With publishing cables