California Attorney General Xavier Becerra asked a Sacramento County Superior Court judge Monday intervene in what he claims is now six months Amazon failing to cite research citations of how warehouse workers were treated during the covid-19 pandemic.
Last spring, Becerra’s office launched an investigation to investigate whether Amazon had acted in accordance with California laws to protect its workers from covid-19 and, on August 19, as part of that investigation. , the California Department of Justice asked Amazon to release specific data related to warehouse policies and procedures. The investigation came after thousands of Amazon warehouse workers began backing down against what they described as utter negligence on the part of the company: strict labor requirements, inadequate medical leave and cleaning procedures, and a number worrying about positive cases of the virus in the company’s packaging facilities. largely disappeared by top executives.
But according to the petition filed by the state on Monday in court, Amazon did not comply with that initial request in the intervening months, instead providing a “slow drip of information” that amounts to “an insufficient response” from the company
“Amazon has made billions during this pandemic by relying on the workforce of essential workers. Its workers do the work while putting themselves at risk,” Becerra said. “It is essential to know if these workers receive the protections in the workplace that they are entitled to according to the law. Time is of the essence. “
In a statement obtained by Reuters, Amazon spokeswoman Jodi Seth said the company had invested heavily in PPE and on-site testing for employees during the pandemic, and, against the claim, that the company has been collaborating for months with Becerra’s office.
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“We are puzzled by the sudden rush of the Attorney General in the courts,Seth said “His allegations of non-compliance with his demands do not coincide with the facts.
In October, Amazon published publicly a comprehensive pandemic data set that revealed about 20,000 workers had contracted covid-19 between March 1 and September 19, a figure the company said was 42% lower than expected, compared to the infection rate among the general population in the US
As the attorney general’s press release notes, the lack of cooperation comes amid profits for Amazon, with the company reporting a 37% increase in profits in the third quarter to essentially triple its revenue.