Amazon sued New York Attorney General Letitia James on Friday to avoid possible legal action over its COVID-19 security protocols and the dismissal of an employee who staged a strike last spring.
The retail giant was criticized at the start of the New York pandemic when workers, including Chris Smalls, protested the conditions of their deposit on Staten Island – prompting an investigation by James’ office.
Smalls, an administrative assistant, said he was fired after organizing the strike in March, when COVID-19 began to spread among warehouse workers.
In its federal Brooklyn lawsuit, Amazon accused James of exceeding his limits by launching the investigation, which concluded that the company violated security requirements and threatened legal action.
James previously called Smalls’ dismissal “shameful” and said his office was considering all legal options while calling the National Labor Relations Board to investigate.
Amazon claimed in the lawsuit that its coronavirus security practices “far exceeded” what was required by the state at the time – and that an unannounced inspection on March 30, the day of the strike, proved this.
“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 suit said, referring to the Staten Island call center.
In November, Smalls filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of black and Hispanic workers that he claims Amazon has put at risk.
Amazon said it fired Smalls for repeatedly violating social detachment requirements and a paid quarantine license, court documents say.
In a statement, James doubled his claims, saying: “During this pandemic, Amazon employees were forced to work in unsafe conditions, while the company and its CEO made billions on their backs.”
“This action by Amazon is nothing more than a sad attempt to divert attention from the facts and evade 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 above the health and safety of workers. We remain relentless in our efforts to protect workers from exploitation and will continue to review all of our legal options. “
More than 19,000 – or 1.44% of Amazon’s frontline workers in the U.S. – hired COVID-19 in September, the company said.
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