Four former Amazon warehouse employees have filed a proposed nationwide class action accusing the company of routinely refusing pregnant workers the accommodations they are entitled to by law, and then disciplining them for the absences that followed.
The case was filed on Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn and reported by Reuters. It is brought with A Better Balance, a workers’ rights non-profit, and alleges violations of the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and New York labour law.
The complaint refers to thousands of pregnant employees, though it does not specify the size of the proposed class.
The accommodations at issue are not elaborate, as according to the complaint, Amazon denied pregnant workers chairs, bathroom breaks, water breaks, and time to attend prenatal appointments.
It is also alleged to have demanded medical documentation it was not entitled to ask for, and to have threatened and dismissed pregnant employees over excessive absences.
