Letitia James, New York state’s chief law enforcement officer, has asked that a New York state court require Amazon to implement certain health and safety measures at its Richmond County fulfilment center in view of the company’s purportedly lax standards, a new COVID-19 variant, and the “holiday rush.” Tuesday’s motion also asks that Amazon reinstate a fired activist employee Christian Smalls, who sued after he was ousted for organizing a warehouse protest in March 2020.
New York instituted the lawsuit after it investigated employee complaints at the outset of the pandemic, allegedly revealing that the company was not taking adequate measures to protect employees from the virus. Amazon fought back, filing a declaratory relief suit of its own that argued that the state had no authority to pursue its labor law claims.
A federal judgment dismissed that suit in April. In the present case, the court denied Amazon’s motion to dismiss in October. This week, the state argued that Amazon is still not doing enough to protect its workers.
New York contended that it is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims because it has shown that Amazon has failed to provide its employees with a safe working environment. The motion detailed the alleged insufficiency of Amazon’s current practices, including that the company fails to allow time for the disinfection of its facilities, conducts inadequate tracing, and suppresses employee concerns through its practice of retaliating against those who speak out.
Next, New York asserted that without a preliminary injunction, Amazon’s workers will suffer irreparable harm. The state explained that as a facility that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and staffs more than 5,000 workers at a time, protections are necessary to stave off dire consequences.
Specifically, the motion asked the court to appoint a monitor to oversee the implementation of precautionary measures at Amazon’s JFK8 facility. These include cleaning, disinfection after workers present at the facility test positive, and meaningful contact tracing protocols, including identifying and notifying close contacts, the motion said.
Amazon is represented by Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in the matter.
