Case 1:20-cv-02468-BMC Document 1 Filed 06/03/20 Page 1 of 35 PageID #: 1
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
`EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
`
`DERRICK PALMER, KENDIA MESIDOR,
`BENITA ROUSE, ALEXANDER ROUSE,
`BARBARA CHANDLER, and LUIS
`PELLOT-CHANDLER,
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`COMPLAINT
`
`Plaintiffs
`
`v.
`
`
`AMAZON.COM, INC. and AMAZON.COM
`SERVICES, LLC,
`
`
`Defendants.
`
`
`
`
`
`INTRODUCTION
`
`1.
`
`Defendants Amazon.com, Inc. and Amazon.com Services LLC (together,
`
`“Amazon”) operate the JFK8 “fulfillment center” in Staten Island. The JFK8 facility is a small
`
`city that runs twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and has a footprint of more than
`
`fourteen football fields. It employs thousands of workers, many of whom are people of color
`
`who travel hours every day by public transportation to work ten- to eleven-hour shifts for low
`
`wages fulfilling Amazon orders for customers across the East Coast.
`
`2.
`
`This case is about Amazon’s failures to comply with New York law and state and
`
`federal public health guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic at the JFK8 facility.
`
`3.
`
`Amazon’s failures have already caused injury and death to workers and family
`
`members of workers. At least one JFK8 worker has died from COVID-19, and there are rumors
`
`of additional deaths among JFK8 workers. Workers have brought the virus home to family
`
`members, some of whom have also tragically died.
`
`4.
`
`Plaintiff Barbara Chandler, for example, contracted the virus that causes
`
`COVID-19 in March at the JFK8 facility from workers who were explicitly or implicitly
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`encouraged to continue attending work and prevented from adequately washing their hands or
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`sanitizing their workstations.
`
`5.
`
`Chandler brought the virus home to her family and less than a month later, she
`
`awoke to find her cousin with whom she lived dead in their bathroom, after he had become ill
`
`with COVID-19 symptoms. As explained further below, Chandler was eligible for and requested
`
`paid quarantine leave under New York law, which requires employers like Amazon to promptly
`
`issue quarantine pay to workers so that no one feels pressured to attend work when they may be
`
`sick. Despite everything she had been through, Amazon failed to pay Chandler her quarantine
`
`leave in the next pay period as required. And after weeks of delay, Amazon ultimately
`
`compensated Chandler for only a portion of the quarantine leave pay to which she was entitled.
`
`6.
`
`Aside from Chandler’s claim to backpay for quarantine leave, Plaintiffs in this
`
`case do not seek damages for past harm. All they seek is an order requiring Amazon to comply
`
`with public health guidance to prevent more harm in the future.
`
`7.
`
`This harm is not theoretical. Workers at JFK8 continue to contract COVID-19. As
`
`recently as this past weekend, JFK8 workers received a message from Amazon announcing
`
`“additional” newly confirmed cases in the facility. As New Yorkers consider a gradual return to
`
`normalcy, JFK8 workers and their families live with the very real threat of infection every day.
`
`8.
`
`Although Amazon has sought to create a façade of compliance by, for example,
`
`providing fulfillment center employees with masks, the company has also relied on purposeful
`
`miscommunication with workers, sloppy contact tracing, and the culture of workplace fear it has
`
`instilled at JFK8 to ensure it can maintain productivity while reducing costs, even if that means
`
`workers come to work sick and cannot engage in proper hygiene, sanitizing, or social distancing
`
`while at work in order to stay healthy.
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`9.
`
`Amazon is not a small business doing its best under uncertain guidance, and
`
`Amazon is not helpless to prevent injury and death caused by virus spread occurring within its
`
`facility. Amazon is one of the wealthiest companies in the world, and it uses cutting-edge
`
`technology to monitor its workers at JFK8, choreographing their locations within the facility by
`
`algorithm and using hand-held scanners and smartphone applications to record their movements
`
`and track, on a minute-by-minute basis, whether they are working or are “off task.”
`
`10.
`
`In an effort to maintain its labor force levels and production, Amazon has exerted
`
`iron-fisted control over efforts to stem the spread of the virus among workers at JFK8. Amazon
`
`tells workers they should contact Amazon’s onsite clinic if they have symptoms, contact Amazon
`
`Human Resources for guidance as to whether they should quarantine, avoid telling others if they
`
`become infected and rely on Amazon to perform contact tracing, and continue to work at
`
`dizzying speeds, even if doing so prevents them from socially distancing, washing their hands,
`
`and sanitizing their work spaces.
`
`11.
`
`Amazon controls its workers and undermines its workers’ efforts to protect
`
`themselves and their coworkers from the virus that causes COVID-19 through a culture of
`
`workplace fear reinforced by constant technological supervision, retaliation against those who
`
`speak out, and the threat of automatic and immediate job loss in a job market where it may be
`
`impossible to find work elsewhere.
`
`12.
`
`Although Amazon’s revenue has ballooned during the pandemic, the company
`
`has managed to minimize costs. But the costs Amazon saves are borne by the public, and the
`
`risks are most profound for workers and their families, like Plaintiff Barbara Chandler and her
`
`cousin. Most New Yorkers have remained safe by complying with the state’s stay-at-home order,
`
`but for JFK8 workers and their families, home has been a place of danger.
`
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`PARTIES
`
`13.
`
`Plaintiff Derrick Palmer, a resident of New Jersey, is a Warehouse Associate,
`
`Process Guide and Picking Master in the Pick, Count, Floor-Health department at JFK8. He has
`
`worked for Amazon since July 2015 and has worked in the JFK8 facility since it opened in
`
`October 2018. In his role as a Picking Master he picks customer orders, repeatedly touching
`
`items that have been touched by other workers at JFK8. His role as a Process Guide requires
`
`regular and close interaction with around 40 other warehouse associates.
`
`14.
`
`Plaintiff Kendia Mesidor, a resident of New Jersey, lives with and is in a
`
`relationship with Derrick Palmer. She is anemic and at heightened risk of infection. Her potential
`
`exposure to the virus through Palmer’s work at JFK8 has already caused Mesidor trauma.
`
`Mesidor’s elderly father died on May 15, 2020; due to her concerns that she could be a carrier of
`
`the virus because of living with someone who works at JFK8, Mesidor was only able to see her
`
`father once during his final months. Mesidor’s last visit with her father took place through a
`
`window days before he died.
`
`15.
`
`Plaintiff Benita Rouse, a resident of New York, is a Problem Solver in the
`
`inbound department at JFK8. She has worked for Amazon since March 2017 and has worked in
`
`the JFK8 facility since it opened in October 2018. In her role as a Problem Solver, she assesses
`
`whether damaged items can be re-sold, which entails touching items that have been handled by
`
`other workers at JFK8. Her role as a Problem Solver also requires regular and close interaction
`
`with her team, as they all use the same equipment and fixtures to process and dispose of
`
`products.
`
`16.
`
`Plaintiff Alexander Rouse, a 32-year-old resident of New York, lives with and is
`
`the only child of Benita Rouse. During the pandemic, he has followed the stay-at-home order in
`
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`New York City, only leaving their small apartment about once per week to get groceries. His
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`primary potential exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19 is through his mother, Benita
`
`Rouse.  
`
`17.
`
`Plaintiff Barbara Chandler, a resident of New York, is a Process Assistant in the
`
`Pick, Count, and Floor-Health department at JFK8. She has worked for Amazon since February
`
`2017 and has worked in the JFK8 facility since it opened in October 2018. In her role as a
`
`Process Assistant, she helps manage, supervise, and coach a team of about 50 people, frequently
`
`interacting closely with workers at JFK8 to ensure they are performing their tasks up to
`
`Amazon’s standards and to help them solve problems in the workplace.
`
`18.
`
`Chandler tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020, and several members of
`
`her household subsequently became sick, including her cousin who died on April 7, 2020 after
`
`experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
`
`19.
`
`Plaintiff Luis Pellot-Chandler, a resident of New York, lives with and is the oldest
`
`child of Barbara Chandler. During the pandemic, he has followed the stay-at-home order in New
`
`York City, but after his mother contracted COVID-19, he got sick and experienced symptoms of
`
`COVID-19.
`
`20.
`
`Defendant Amazon.com Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of
`
`business in Seattle, Washington.
`
`21.
`
`Defendant Amazon.com Services LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of
`
`Amazon.com Inc. Amazon.com Services LLC is a Delaware limited liability corporation with its
`
`principal place of business in Seattle, Washington.
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`22.
`
`Amazon is the world’s largest internet company by revenue, and, with
`
`approximately 840,000 employees, the second-biggest private employer in the United States.
`
`Amazon operates the JFK8 facility in Staten Island, New York.
`
`JURISDICTION
`
`23.
`
`This Court has jurisdiction over this matter under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (federal
`
`question) and 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (diversity).
`
`24.
`
`Plaintiffs’ claims arise under the laws of the United States because the question of
`
`whether Amazon’s conduct violates state law involves interpreting federal rules and guidance,
`
`including guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
`
`25.
`
`This Court has diversity jurisdiction because Plaintiffs are residents of New York
`
`and New Jersey and Defendants are Delaware corporations with their principal places of
`
`business in Seattle, Washington.
`
`26.
`
`Furthermore, the cost to Amazon of implementing the injunctive relief requested
`
`below, including the costs necessitated by providing prompt information about, and payment of,
`
`COVID-19 quarantine leave, providing additional “time off task” to facilitate handwashing and
`
`sanitizing of workstations, developing and implementing a plan for disinfecting areas of the
`
`facility used by infected workers, and developing and implementing a contact-tracing protocol, is
`
`in excess of $75,000.00.
`
`27.
`
`Venue is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391 in the Eastern District of New York
`
`because the acts and omissions that are the subject of this action all occurred in the Eastern
`
`District of New York.
`
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` FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
`
`The Current COVID-19 Pandemic
`
`28.
`
`29.
`
`COVID-19 is an infectious respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus.
`
`COVID-19 can result in serious, long-term health complications and has resulted
`
`in over 100,000 reported deaths in the United States to date. Among these serious health
`
`complications, COVID-19 can cause inflammation in the lungs, clogging the air sacs in the
`
`lungs, limiting the body’s oxygen supply and blood clots, organ failure, intestinal damage, heart
`
`inflammation, problems with the liver, neurological malfunction, and acute kidney disease.
`
`30.
`
`Some populations are especially vulnerable to the consequences of COVID-19,
`
`including individuals 65 years and older, people living in a nursing home or long-term care
`
`facility, and others of all ages with underlying medical conditions, such as people with lung
`
`disease, asthma, heart conditions, severe obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, or liver disease and
`
`people who are immunocompromised.
`
`31.
`
`Some conditions that can cause compromised immunity include cancer treatment,
`
`smoking, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immunodeficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or
`
`AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids, and other immune weakening medications.
`
`32.
`
`33.
`
`The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is also highly contagious.
`
`COVID-19 appears to spread easily and sustainably across the world through
`
`“community spread.”
`
`34.
`
`Community spread means that people have been infected with the virus in an area,
`
`including some who are not sure how or where they became infected.
`
`35.
`
`The virus spreads mainly person to person, primarily through respiratory droplets
`
`produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
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`36.
`
`Spread is more likely when people are in close contact with one another (within
`
`about 6 feet for longer than 15 minutes).
`
`37.
`
`The virus can be spread even by people who are “asymptomatic,” meaning they
`
`carry the active virus in their body but never develop any symptoms; “pre-symptomatic,”
`
`meaning they have been infected and are incubating the virus but don’t yet show symptoms; or
`
`very mildly symptomatic, meaning they feel unwell but continuing to come in close contact with
`
`others.
`
`38.
`
`Recent research from the CDC suggests that a single person with COVID-19 is
`
`likely to infect five or six other individuals absent aggressive social distancing practices.
`
`39.
`
`The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus.
`
`New York’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
`
`40.
`
`41.
`
`New York’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 was announced on March 1, 2020.
`
`In the following weeks, New York became the global epicenter of the pandemic,
`
`with over 380,000 cases and 30,000 deaths to date. Officials estimate there are many more
`
`unconfirmed cases of the virus that resulted in many additional deaths.
`
`42.
`
`In addition to illness and death on a massive scale, the New York economy has
`
`been hard-hit by the pandemic. At the end of April, an estimated 1.2 million New Yorkers—27
`
`percent of all private-sector workers—were estimated to be jobless.
`
`43.
`
`On March 20, 2020, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued the “New York State On
`
`PAUSE” Executive Order (“NYSOP”).
`
`44.
`
`Under NYSOP, effective 8:00 p.m. on March 22, 2020, all non-essential
`
`businesses in the state were closed. NYSOP permits “Essential Businesses,” defined as those
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`providing products or services that are required to maintain the health, safety, and welfare of the
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`citizens of New York State, to stay open.
`
`45.
`
`46.
`
`Amazon is an “Essential Business.”
`
`All Essential Businesses must continue to comply with the guidance and
`
`directives for maintaining a clean and safe work environment issued by the New York State
`
`Department of Health.
`
`47.
`
`One of the other early steps that New York State took to protect the public was to
`
`ensure that essential workers and others had access to paid sick leave when they had to
`
`quarantine pursuant to state law because they had contracted or been exposed to the virus and
`
`experienced symptoms.
`
`48.
`
`This protection has been an essential feature of New York’s public health policy
`
`because it ensures that workers, including the millions of essential workers in New York State
`
`who do not have the savings to lose the income they make from work, are not encouraged to
`
`leave their homes and expose their coworkers by continuing to work.
`
`49.
`
`Under New York’s paid quarantine leave protection,1 workers are guaranteed job
`
`protection and financial compensation if they become subject to a mandatory or precautionary
`
`order of quarantine or isolation issued by the New York State Department of Health, local board
`
`of health, or any government entity duly authorized to issue such order due to COVID-19.
`
`50.
`
`Under New York law, a worker subject to quarantine leave must be paid for
`
`quarantine leave in the next pay period so that no one is encouraged to work outside of the home
`
`when sick.
`
` 
`1 New Paid Leave for COVID-19, https://paidfamilyleave.ny.gov/COVID19.
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`51.
`
`In recent weeks, New York has begun a phased reopening of previously closed
`
`businesses under the New York Forward plan. As part of this plan, the state has provided
`
`detailed industry-specific guidance for businesses that are reopening, as well as those, like
`
`Amazon, that were deemed essential and continued their operations during NYSOP. These
`
`guidelines are described as “minimum requirements”2 that businesses must follow to remain
`
`open, and include the following:
`
`a.
`
`Operate at no more than 50-percent occupancy as reflected on the
`
`facility’s Certificate of Occupancy, except that if more workers are needed
`
`to continue safe operations, then additional mitigation measures must be
`
`taken;
`
`b.
`
`Implement policies to minimize sharing of objects and touching of shared
`
`surfaces, and when sharing of objects or touching of shared surfaces
`
`cannot be avoided, require that workers wash or sanitize their hands before
`
`and after use;
`
`c.
`
`Provide hand washing stations and supplies (including warm water, soap
`
`and paper towels) for employee use;
`
`d.
`
`Stagger shifts and breaks to minimize opportunities for congestion in
`
`hallways, break rooms, bathrooms, etc., and stagger scheduled tasks so
`
`that multiple teams are not working in the same area at the same time;
`
` 
`2 Interim Guidance for the Wholesale Trade Sector During the COVID-19,
`https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/WholesaleTradeMasterGui
`dance.pdf.
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`e.
`
`Ensure that workstations are cleaned and sanitized between shifts and that
`
`shared tools and equipment are cleaned and sanitized before a different
`
`worker uses them;
`
`f.
`
`If a person working on site tests positive for COVID-19, disinfect all
`
`portions of the facility to which that person had access, waiting 24 hours
`
`where possible to begin the disinfection process and closing those parts of
`
`the facility undergoing disinfection until the process is complete;
`
`g.
`
`Conduct regular, ongoing cleaning of the entire facility, giving particular
`
`attention to frequently touched surfaces and high-risk areas where many
`
`workers are present, and keep a log of all cleaning activities;
`
`h.
`
`If cleaning products are provided to workers to clean their own
`
`workstations, allocate time during shifts for this cleaning to be conducted;
`
`i.
`
`Conduct health screenings of all people entering the facility including
`
`asking if they have experienced symptoms of COVID-19 or been in
`
`contact with someone who has tested positive for the disease in the past 14
`
`days, and keep a log of all responses to these questions to facilitate contact
`
`tracing efforts;
`
`j.
`
`Cooperate with local health departments if someone at the facility is
`
`diagnosed with COVID-19 by providing a list of all workers and visitors
`
`who entered the facility within 48 hours of the time the infected person
`
`was diagnosed or began experiencing symptoms, whichever was earlier.
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`The Centers for Disease Control Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
`
`52.
`
`In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the CDC published guidance for employers
`
`and employees, including Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond
`
`to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
`
`53.
`
`The purpose of the guidance is to “help prevent workplace exposures to
`
`COVID-19, in non-healthcare settings” and to “provide[] planning considerations for community
`
`spread of COVID-19.” Id.
`
`54.
`
`The following is a summary of some of these guidelines:
`
`a.
`
`Employees who have symptoms should stay home and employers should
`
`develop flexible leave policies to allow employees to stay home,
`
`particularly by creating non-punitive sick leave policies;
`
`b.
`
`Employers should not require a positive COVID-19 test or a healthcare
`
`provider’s note for employees to take sick leave;
`
`c.
`
`d.
`
`e.
`
`Sick employees should not return to work except in consultation with
`
`independent health care providers and state and local health departments;
`
`Employers should reduce face-to-face contact between employees;
`
`Employers should take steps to reduce transmission at the workplace by
`
`reassigning work tasks to maintain social distance of six-feet, staggering
`
`shifts, or allowing telework;
`
`f.
`
`Employers should establish policies to minimize spread through a
`
`workplace by identifying workers who have likely been exposed to the
`
`disease, including in some cases through contact tracing that requires a
`
`review of close contacts over the 48 hours before symptoms of the disease
`
`emerged;
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`g.
`
`h.
`
`i.
`
`j.
`
`Employees should be encouraged to wash their hands and employers
`
`should facilitate this by providing hand washing stations;
`
`Employers should provide tissues;
`
`Employers should increase ventilation rates; and
`
`Employers should develop plans to clean high touch areas with an EPA-
`
`approved cleaning agent.
`
`Amazon Fails to Follow Minimum Public Health Standards to Prevent Transmission of
`COVID-19 at JFK8
`
`
`55.
`
`During NYSOP, Amazon has kept JFK8 open as an essential business.
`
`56.
`
`JFK8 is a building that occupies approximately 840,000 square feet and is located
`
`in the Bloomfield neighborhood on the west shore of Staten Island.
`
`57.
`
`On average there are approximately 3,500 workers at JFK8. During peak seasons,
`
`which include months leading up to Christmas and the time around Amazon Prime Day in July,
`
`the workforce swells to approximately 5,000 workers.
`
`58.
`
`The workforce at Amazon has similarly swelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
`
`Amazon has said it hired 175,000 new workers in April.
`
`59.
`
`At JFK8, many of the new workers are temporary workers hired to meet increased
`
`demands during the pandemic.
`
`60.
`
`Full-time JFK8 workers typically work 10.5-hour or 10.75-hour shifts, four days
`
`per week.
`
`61.
`
`During peak seasons these workers are expected to work “mandatory extra time”
`
`shifts, or “MET,” of an additional 10-hour shift each week.
`
`62.
`
`Amazon has required some workers to work “mandatory extra time” because of
`
`increased demands during the pandemic.
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`63.
`
`For example, on March 18, 2020 Amazon sent a text message to workers at JFK8
`
`with a “reminder that All departments will be on MET For the week of March 22nd” and
`
`encouraged workers to come in to work because customers were relying on them more than ever.
`
`64.
`
`JFK8 also employs part-time workers who typically work 10-hour shifts, 3 days
`
`per week as well as flex-shift workers and variable-shift workers who have individualized
`
`schedules based on their availability.
`
`65.
`
`Because of JFK8’s somewhat remote location, many workers take multiple forms
`
`of public transit to get to work. Those workers who do not have their own cars typically take
`
`public transit in New York City to the Staten Island Ferry and then board a city bus, the S40 or
`
`the S90, from the St. George Terminal to the facility.
`
`66.
`
`Although the S40 and S90 are used by JFK8 workers, they are public busses and
`
`other city residents can and do use them frequently.
`
`67.
`
`Because of the pandemic, the S90 express route has been suspended and service
`
`on the S40 has been significantly reduced.
`
`68.
`
`JFK8 workers and other City residents crowd onto the S40, often filling busses to
`
`capacity and leaving passengers to wait for the next bus.
`
`69.
`
`As a result, JFK8 workers who rely on public transit must often wait longer than
`
`usual for the bus and may arrive late to the facility.
`
`70.
`
`Around March 24, 2020, workers at JFK8 began raising concerns about
`
`Amazon’s failure to take steps to ensure their safety.
`
`71.
`
`Specifically, workers were concerned that management was withholding
`
`information about positive cases in the facility, refusing to shut down the facility for a deep
`
`sanitization as had been done in other Amazon facilities with positive cases, failing to implement
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`and enforce policies to allow for adequate social distancing, and failing to improve access to
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`leave for workers who were sick, who had family members who were sick, or who believed they
`
`had been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
`
`72.
`
`Amazon has disciplined several workers who spoke out about health and safety
`
`concerns at JFK8, including Plaintiff Derrick Palmer.
`
`73.
`
`Upon information and belief, as of June 2, 2020, there have been at least 44
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`confirmed cases of COVID-19 at JFK8.
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`74.
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`Upon information and belief, as of June 2, 2020, at least one, and possibly more,
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`JFK8 workers have died of COVID-19-related causes.
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`75.
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`As of June 2, 2020, at least 4 family members or others who share living space
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`with JFK8 workers have become infected with COVID-19, including three children and one
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`cousin of Plaintiff Barbara Chandler. At least one of these individuals died.
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`Amazon Discourages Workers from Taking Quarantine Leave and Does Not Promptly Pay
`Workers for Quarantine Leave as Required by New York Law
`
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`New York State law is abundantly clear: paid sick leave for workers is essential to
`
`76.
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`preserve the public health during this pandemic.
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`77.
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`If workers feel pressure, whether explicit pressure from their employers or
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`implicit economic pressure, to continue coming to work even when they may have the virus that
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`causes COVID-19, the public health will suffer.
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`78.
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`Clearly communicating with workers about access to leave, promptly providing
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`them with that leave, and promptly paying them for that leave is essential to protect the public
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`health.
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`15
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`79.
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`Although Amazon purports to comply with New York quarantine leave law, it
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`fails to abide by either the letter or the spirit of that law by obfuscating and miscommunicating
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`with workers regarding the availability of leave.
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`80.
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`Amazon also fails to promptly pay workers when they stay home from work
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`consistent with New York quarantine leave laws.
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`81.
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`Access to prompt, full payment for quarantine leave is essential to ensuring that
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`workers can, consistent with the purposes of New York law, remain safely at home if they are or
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`may be sick, confident that their income will not suffer as a result. That is a public health
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`imperative.
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`82.
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`The potential availability of other forms of leave for Amazon workers does not
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`absolve Amazon of its responsibility to make quarantine leave easily accessible.
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`83. Many categories of paid and unpaid leave at Amazon are only accessible to
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`workers who have formally applied to Amazon for such leave.
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`84.
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`Leave made available to workers at the employer’s discretion is insufficient to
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`mitigate the public health consequences of not providing adequate leave, particularly for low-
`
`wage workers in workplaces where workers fear retaliation for seeking leave.
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`85.
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`Some JFK8 workers may be entitled to some amount of automatic unpaid leave or
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`“UPT,” which accrues at 20 hours per quarter.
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`86.
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`Amazon deducts a full hour of UPT each time a JFK8 worker is more than five
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`minutes late to work.
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`87.
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`This is true even if their lateness is due to public transportation problems, which
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`have frequently occurred due to limited public transit during the pandemic.
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`16
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`Case 1:20-cv-02468-BMC Document 1 Filed 06/03/20 Page 17 of 35 PageID #: 17
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`88.
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`Furthermore, once a worker loses all his or her accrued UPT, he or she can be
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`automatically fired for arriving late to work, even by a minute.
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`89.
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`The critical importance of UPT, and the potential consequences of running out of
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`it, mean that workers fear running out of UPT for matters that cannot be controlled, like public
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`transportation delays.
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`90.
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`91.
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`As a result, workers are fearful of using up their UPT and guard it closely.
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`Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon provided JFK8 workers with unlimited
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`UPT for a period of time that included part of March and all of April 2020.
`
`92.
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`Amazon recognized that this policy was essential to ensuring workers would feel
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`safe staying home from work when they were sick.
`
`93.
`
`94.
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`In May 2020, Amazon reinstated its usual limits on UPT.
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`Since then, workers have struggled once again to retain their UPT and therefore
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`feel increased pressure to attend work while sick or when they believe they were exposed to a
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`COVID-19 positive individual.
`
`95.
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`Because of the risks of unemployment, especially now, when the unemployment
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`rate is higher than at any time since the 1930s, Amazon’s unpaid leave policy is insufficient to
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`reassure workers that they can miss work because of illness or exposure to illness.
`
`96.
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` Workers at the JFK8 facility are also entitled to up to 48 hours of paid leave over
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`the course of a year (called Paid Time Off or “PTO”), but which accrues at a gradual rate of one
`
`hour for every thirty hours of work in accordance with New York City paid sick leave laws.
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`97.
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`The amount of paid leave JFK8 workers are entitled to is inadequate to encourage
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`workers to take sufficient leave when they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or have
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`17
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`Case 1:20-cv-02468-BMC Document 1 Filed 06/03/20 Page 18 of 35 PageID #: 18
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`been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19, particularly because of how slowly it accrues
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`and the fact that many of Amazon’s newer workers have access to little or no PTO.
`
`98.
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`Amazon’s punitive policies regarding unpaid leave further exacerbate the problem
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`of the amount of paid leave being inadequate. Workers hesitate to use their city-mandated paid
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`sick leave when they are sick because they are fearful that they may need to use it if, for
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`example, they are late for work and unpaid leave is not available or during “blackout” periods
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`when they are not entitled to use discretionary leave time.
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`99.
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`Amazon’s unwillingness to provide easily accessible leave for workers who
`
`believe they may be infected with COVID-19 encourages workers to come to work when they
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`are sick, exacerbating spread of the virus in the facility and beyond.
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`100. Moreover, when a worker at JFK8 reports to a supervisor that he or she may be
`
`experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, the supervisor urges that worker to contact “Amcare,”
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`Amazon’s in-house clinic.
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`101. Amcare purports to provide medical care to Amazon workers experiencing injury
`
`or illness.
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`102. Amcare has come under considerable scrutiny for purporting to provide medical
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`care without being licensed to do so.
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`103. As recently as 2019, Amazon received a “hazard letter” from the Occupational
`
`Health and Safety Administration regarding a nearby fulfillment center’s Amcare facility, which
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`also purported to provide medical care but did not receive sufficient oversight or supervision
`
`from a licensed physician.
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`104. Amcare has encouraged workers to return to work notwithstanding the presence
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`of injuries or illnesses that Amcare is not licensed to treat.
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`18
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`Case 1:20-cv-02468-BMC Document 1 Filed 06/03/20 Page 19 of 35 PageID #: 19
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`105. Some workers have asked Amcare about COVID-19 and possible exposure at the
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`facility, and Amcare has told them not to worry.
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`106. On at least one occasion, a worker attempted to continue working after having
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`visited Amcare and complaining of symptoms.
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`107. When workers at the JFK8 facility appear to have symptoms of COVID-19 or
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`believe they have come into close contact with the virus, Amazon requires them to communicate
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`with Amazon’s human resources team before they stay home pursuant to New York’s quarantine
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`laws.
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`108. Because of Amazon’s byzantine protocols related t