Amir Khafagy at Documented reports the Expose Amazon Campaign is alleging the world’s largest on-line retailer is systematically violating the Federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The campaign, which launched in July 2024, has spoken with 450 Amazon Workers across 35 States. Many of those conversations were with Women who claimed to have miscarried while on the job or were denied pregnancy accommodations, including some for taking an unauthorized break that got her fired from a Southern California Amazon Facility. “From all the stories we are collecting, we are seeing systematic violations of that law,” said Chloe Sigal, the Campaign’s Senior Organizer. “People’s rights are being violated and laws are being broken.” First passed in 2022 and taking effect in 2023, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers with 15 or more Workers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant Employees, including providing Workers with a chair to sit on, additional breaks and allowing time off. Workers do not need a doctor’s note saying they are pregnant - they only need to inform their employer of their need for accommodations and it must be provided for them. The New York State Division of Human Rights filed its own complaint against Amazon in 2022 that alleges Amazon, which operates 23 facilities and employs over 39,000 Workers across the State, engages in the “discriminatory” practice of denying pregnant Workers and Workers with disabilities reasonable accommodations. The outcome of the case is still pending. Worker safety at Amazon has long been of concern. In 2023, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration found Amazon exposed Workers at six locations across the country, including a warehouse in upstate New York, to a high risk of “low back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders.” A 2024 United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions report found Amazon manipulates its workplace injury data to portray its warehouses as safer than they actually are. The report found Amazon Warehouses recorded mor than 30% more injuries in 2023 than the Warehousing Industry average. The company’s emphasis on speed and efficiency, the report found, is the cause of high injury rates among Workers. 

To Read This Labor News Report In Its Entirety, Go To: Miscarriage of Justice: Amazon Accused of Violating Pregnant Workers' Rights - Documented