Today, A Better Balance filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Amazon, the online retail behemoth that has posted record profits this quarter, on behalf of Jessica*, a pregnant former warehouse associate in Virginia.
The charge details how Amazon repeatedly denied Jessica a reasonable accommodation for her high-risk pregnancy, forced her onto unpaid leave while she waited for an accommodation, and then fired her for missing work while on this forced leave.
Jessica’s experiences highlight Amazon’s use of abusive policies and practices that systematically violate warehouse workers’ legal rights and threaten their health and safety. They also reveal Amazon’s harmful use of technology and automated systems to outsource decisions, and to attempt to avoid legal responsibility for those decisions.
Jessica was hired at Amazon 17 weeks into her high-risk pregnancy. To protect her from life-threatening pregnancy complications, her doctors recommended a restriction on the amount of weight she could lift, and instructed her to refrain from repeatedly bending from a standing position – accommodations she is legally entitled to under the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. She dutifully went through Amazon’s process to obtain an accommodation.
Immediately, Jessica was assigned work that was hazardous and in violation of her documented limitations as a pregnant worker. For example, she was repeatedly ordered to bend and lift heavy boxes for grueling, 10-hour shifts, until she was in pain and feeling faint. On some assignments, Jessica was rated for performance based on how many heavy packages she could rapidly lift and sort per hour. When she protested, as an “alternative” assignment, Jessica was instructed to clean with chemicals that were marked as unsafe for pregnant workers, and then denied protective equipment. When Jessica tried to appeal to HR, she was told that “the company’s needs come first.”
Amazon repeatedly sent Jessica home for long periods of time without pay and then threatened her with discipline for racking up too many absence “points.” Ultimately, she received an automated email saying she was fired, and spent weeks in limbo while trying to appeal the decision or obtain an explanation. Eventually, fearing for her pregnancy and her own health, and having exhausted numerous attempts to request that Amazon accommodate her, Jessica was forced to leave her job. She faces a precarious financial situation as she is home without income while preparing to welcome a new child.
“Jessica’s situation lays bare how Amazon’s systems are set up to violate the law,” said Shyamala Ramakrishna, an attorney at A Better Balance. “Through this charge, we hope to affirm Jessica’s rights under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act, which we allege Amazon violated. We also seek to hold Amazon accountable for a clear pattern of using its automated attendance system to punish workers who request accommodations.”
“I hope my story enlightens Amazon of the unfair hurdles individuals with disabilities and those needing accommodation are forced to endure. I hope Amazon is willing to correct these obstacles for those in the future,” said Jessica.
A Better Balance has reason to believe that the treatment Jessica experienced highlights broader issues with Amazon’s policies and practices. Pregnant workers and workers with disabilities who have experienced similar treatment at Amazon are encouraged to contact A Better Balance’s free and confidential legal helpline.
*Our client’s name has been replaced with a pseudonym to protect her privacy.
