NYC attorney slams Amazon over coronavirus measures and labour practices

The New York attorney general’s office has reportedly written to Amazon and warned the e-commerce giant that the measures it has taken regarding the coronavirus pandemic “are so inadequate that they may violate several provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act”.

Its letter also states that firing outspoken workers sends “a threatening message to other employees.” This is a reference to Christian Smalls who helped stage a protest at its Staten Island fulfilment centre.

Also of interest: Amazon takes action as workers criticise warehouse conditions

The letter, not yet published but obtained by NPR, says: “This Office has learned that many workers are fearful about speaking out about their concerns following the termination of Mr. Smalls' employment. This is a particularly dangerous message to send during a pandemic, when chilling worker speech about health and safety practices could literally be a matter of life and death."

An Amazon spokesperson said that the company respects workers' rights to protest, "however, these rights do not provide blanket immunity against bad actions, particularly those that endanger the health, well-being or safety of their colleagues."

John Oliver

John Oliver, host of HBO's Last Week Tonight show, recently hit out at Amazon in a segment involving the coronavirus pandemic and the essential workforce.

Last month, it debuted a commercial dedicated to the “Amazon retail heroes on the floor, in the air, or behind the wheel.”

“It’s hard to say what I like least about that,” Oliver said “Maybe it’s the schmaltzy piano music, maybe it’s Amazon patronisingly claiming they care about the well being of their ‘heroes,’ or maybe it’s just the fact that, out of context, the Amazon smile logo is a quick sketch of an uncircumcised dick. It's probably a combination of all three.”

"If you feel like you are not working in safe conditions, then it is even more infuriating to know the items you are packing can sometimes be anything but essential,” he added.

He then showed a news clip of an employee who was upset that his warehouse was still in operation even though it was completely out of "essential" items. "If we are depending on those workers for our survival and to a certain extent, our comfort, we owe them a lot in return," Oliver commented.

He also addressed paid sick leave, which US Congress recently mandated temporarily for smaller companies.

"Amazon's initial policy would give two weeks paid time off for anyone whose been diagnosed with Covid or who has been quarantined, which sounds good, but there is a big problem with requiring a positive test," Oliver said.

Prior to his firing, Chris Smalls had claimed it was near impossible to get a test in New York. "And Amazon will say they have now made their sick leave policy more lenient for their 'heroes,' which is true. What's also true is that only came after they got letters from 14 state attorneys general saying their initial policy was inadequate to protect the public health."

Amazon recently posted an update to its blog citing the numerous safety measures it has offered employees, including personal protective equipment, temperature checks, social distancing guidelines, and other process updates meant to keep workers healthy.