On Monday Xavier Becerra, Attorney General for the state of California asked the court to force Amazon to give information concerning his investigations on the proper compliance of the e-commerce giant with COVID-19 restrictions applied by the state.
Although the Democratic Attorney General had asked for information in May, Amazon failed to provide information.
“It has been nearly six months since the attorney general’s initial request to Amazon for information regarding its COVID-19-related data, policies, practices, and procedures for its California facilities and workers. The slow drip of information from Amazon is an insufficient response,” the lawsuit reads. “Absent the requested data, the attorney general is unable to adequately determine if Amazon is complying with applicable California law.”
Becerra said that he had learnt more about Amazon’s practices from press releases and media reports rather than from the company itself.
“Amazon has made billions during this pandemic relying on the labor of essential workers,” Becerra said in a statement. “It is critical to know if these workers are receiving the protections on the job that they are entitled to under the law.” “Time is of the essence,” he said.
In October Amazon said that almost 20,000 of its workers contacted coronavirus between March and mid-September. The company has received criticism from advocacy groups as well as its workers about its treatment of workers and benefits offered to them. Warehouses offer “unique and potentially dangerous conditions” to work in, especially during the pandemic.
