Amazon Workers Sue Over Virus Brought Home From Warehouse
- Workers claim lax safety policies put their families at risk
- Lawsuit focuses on Staten Island, N.Y., distribution center
Amazon employees hold a protest and walkout over conditions at the company’s Staten Island distribution facility on March 30, 2020 in New York City. Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
A group of Amazon.com Inc. warehouse employees sued the online retail giant, claiming its working conditions put not only them at risk of contracting the coronavirus but also their family members, including one who died.
Barbara Chandler, one of three workers who filed a lawsuit Wednesday in New York, claims she contracted the virus in March at Amazon’s Staten Island distribution center, where employees “were explicitly or implicitly encouraged to continue attending work and prevented from adequately washing their hands or sanitizing their workstations.” Within a month, Chandler’s cousin, whom she lived with, died after experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, the lawsuit says.