BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – Faced with possible litigation, Amazon has decided to initiate court proceedings by filing a lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The case, filed Feb. 12 in New York federal court, says James is ignoring the safety record of the company during the COVID-19 pandemic as she investigates it and that she publicly condemned Amazon for firing an employee who violated social distancing requirements.
The termination of Christian Smalls from Amazon’s JFK8 facility triggered James’ investigation and possible lawsuit. Her preliminary findings say Amazon has violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
“The OAG’s letter to Amazon containing the preliminary assessment did not mention the New York City Sheriff’s Office’s findings that Amazon went ‘above and beyond’ applicable compliance requirements and that complaints to the contrary were ‘baseless,’ or include any other facts favorable to Amazon,” the suit says.
And though James is claiming the company retaliated against two fired employees, Amazon says it provided photos of one of them violating social distancing guidelines after being instructed to quarantine.
“The OAG has now threatened to sue Amazon if it does not immediately agree to a list of demands, many of which have no connection to health and safety and have no factual or legal basis,” the suit says.
“Among other things, the OAG has demanded that Amazon ‘disgorge’ profits, subsidize public bus service, reduce its production speeds and performance requirements, reinstate Mr. Smalls and pay large sums to Mr. Smalls and Mr. Palmer for ‘emotional distress,’ retain a health and safety consultant to oversee safety and production, and adopt safety-related policies it already implemented.”
Amazon calls the demands “exorbitant.” Its lawsuit seeks a declaration that AG James lacks the authority to regulate workplace safety responses to COVID-19 and regulate claims of retaliation.