BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – New York Attorney General Letitia James has moved to dismiss Amazon’s lawsuit against her that seeks to block litigation she filed against it over the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her May 3 motion comes a month after her lawsuit got a restart in New York state court. The timeline essentially is this: James threatened suit, Amazon sued her to block it, James filed her own suit.
“Amazon’s complaint should be dismissed,” James’ lawyers wrote. “As an initial matter, the court lacks federal subject matter jurisdiction because Amazon requests anticipatory declaratory and injunctive relief while disputing the meaning and application of state law.
“(E)ven assuming federal jurisdiction, Younger abstention is mandatory here because (James’) action is pending in state court; a safe and retaliation-free workplace is an important state interest; and the state action affords an adequate opportunity for judicial review of Amazon’s preemption defenses.”
The two sides are locked in a battle over Amazon’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon says it was justified in firing two employees who violated social distancing rules, even putting forth a picture of one of them ignoring orders to quarantine.
It also says the New York City Sheriff’s Office has found it went “above and beyond” compliance requirements at its facility there, and that James’ list of demands exceeds what is appropriate.
“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,” the company wrote in a Feb. 12 federal court lawsuit.
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.
James filed her case in New York County Supreme Court. It says Amazon has failed to institute reasonable and adequate measures to protect workers from COVID-19 at its Staten Island fulfillment center and its Queens distribution center.
“When Amazon employees began to object to Amazon’s inadequate practices and to make complaints to Amazon management, government agencies, and the media, Amazon took swift retaliatory action to silence workers’ complaints,” James’ suit says.
“In late-March 2020, Amazon fired employee Christian Smalls, and in early-April 2020, Amazon issued a final written warning to employee Derrick Palmer. Amazon’s actions against these visible critics who advocated for Amazon to fully comply with legal health requirements sent a chilling message to other Amazon employees.”