New York agency files discrimination complaint against Amazon

[AZProgressive]

Source: PBS

A state agency in New York has filed an administrative complaint against Amazon, alleging the e-commerce giant discriminated against pregnant and disabled workers by denying reasonable accommodations and forcing them to take unpaid leave, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday.

Amazon has more than 39,000 workers across New York in nearly two dozen worksites, which employ in-house consultants who evaluate accommodation requests, according to a statement from the governor’s office. But the New York State Division of Human Rights, the agency that filed the complaint, alleges the retailer has a policy that allows onsite managers to override recommendations from the consultants, which has led to denials in the worker requests.

State law requires all employers to provide reasonable accommodation for pregnant and disabled workers. The governor’s office lists three separate employee requests from pregnant or disabled workers that it says were denied.

The complaint also alleges that under Amazon’s policy, employees with disabilities are forced to take unpaid medical leave even when the accommodation consultant “has identified a reasonable accommodation that would allow the employee to perform the essential functions of their position without an undue burden,” the governor’s office said in a statement. It said such practices violate state law.

Read more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/new-york-agency-files-discrimination-complaint-against-amazon

[Ms. Toad]

1. Interesting.

My daughter works at Amazon. I don't believe Amazon gives any of its employees paid sick leave, aside from briefly for COVID. (They just dropped paid leave for COVID).

They have a couple of categories of unpaid time off (awarded in fairly generous quantities). I don't know all of the details, but essentially if you come in late, leave early, don't want to work a mandatory overtime day, or get sick - you get terminated if you don't have accumulated unpaid time off to cover the hours you are assigned to work, but don't work.

My daughter (with a disablity in the form of a liver disease) just schedules all of her doctor's appointments on Thursday or Friday (her days off) or saves up unpaid time if she needs to take time off for a medical procedure she can't schedule on Thursday or Friday.

I think that system sucks. And it would definitely be discriminatory for them to terminate pregnant employees or employees with a disability if they don't have enough unpaid time off to cover their leave. (In other words, a reasonable accommodation would be to allow them additional unpaid time off - not to mention that after they are there long enough they are eligible for FMLA, which protects their job).

But I'm not sure it is discriminatory not to give paid time off for pregnant women and people with disabilities when they don't give paid time off for anyone.

[MiniMe]

2. I understand having to accrue paid time off for sick leave

But to have to accrue unpaid time off for sick leave is ridiculous. I can even asking for a doctor's note if you are out sick. There are some people who will abuse it and just not feel like going to work. but to have to accrue time not paid is something I would not go for and would not work at a place like that.

[Ms. Toad]

3. My daughter with no college degree

earned 2/3 as much as I did last year (I have a bachelor's degree and 2 advanced degrees), and she just bought her first home. Her health insurance is better than any work insurance I ever had. She has a 401(k) plan with an employer match (which I've never had). She can attend 3 or 4 colleges within driving distance tuition free. So it's not all bad.

A lot of hourly workers don't get paid sick leave.

I agree that it is ridiculous not to include paid sick leave - if for no other reason than the practice encourages people to come to sick work. (My daughter went to work with COVID because she was granted 10 days of paid sick leave, but unless she had a positive test it was converted to 5 days of unpaid leave - and any additional unpaid time off had to come from accrued unpaid leave. At day 5, she had a negative rapid test - but the restults from her PCR test were not back yet. She had to decide whether to risk her accrued unpaid time if her PCR test did not come back positive. It came back positive halfway through her shift.)

My point was only that it isn't discriminatory to deny paid time off to pregnant women or people with a disability when no one gets paid time off. Amazon can't fire them because their disability or pregnancy makes it impossible to comply with the rules that you have to "buy" your time off with accrued unpaid time off or be fired. But paying them for leave when it is not available to anyone else effectely pays them more per hour because of pregnancy or disability.

[MiniMe]

4. It sounds like your daughter is doing really well

I just can't get past the idea that employers offer absolutely no paid time off. Makes me glad I'm retired.

[Ms. Toad]

5. Yes and no.

Given her health issues, she is doing remarkably well. Given where she was before she acquired a costly and life-threatening illness, not so hot. She was valedictorian of her high school class, but has not been able to finish college because of the illness she was diagnosed with her freshman year.

But, yeah. I kept pushing her about sick leave, since I had a hard time believing it either. She doesn't have any.