ALBANY – The State Division of Human Rights has filed a complaint against Amazon, Inc. alleging the company engages in discrimination against pregnant workers and workers with disabilities by denying them reasonable accommodations.
The human rights division also alleges that Amazon has policies that force pregnant workers and workers with disabilities to take an unpaid leave of absence rather than allowing them to work with reasonable accommodation.
The company operates 23 worksites with over 39,000 employees across New York, including a giant distribution facility in the Town of Montgomery and is in the process of constructing a smaller facility in East Fishkill.
In the complaint, the human rights agency alleges a pregnant worker requested and was approved to receive a reasonable accommodation to avoid lifting packages over 25 pounds. However, the worksite manager refused to follow the accommodation.
In another instance, the agency alleges a worker who requested a reduction of work hours due to disability was denied the accommodation despite initial approval by an accommodations consultant. The worksite manager refused to change the worker’s schedule even after several weeks of correspondence with the consultant.
Eventually, Amazon determined the request was not supported by sufficient medical documentation and rather than continuing a dialogue with the worker to obtain appropriate medical documentation as state law requires, denied the request and closed the matter.
