Amazon sues New York attorney general to prevent state coronavirus lawsuit

Name: Coronavirus: weird and wonderful vaccination centres around the world to fight Covid-19
Uploaded: 2021-02-12T14:15:09.000Z
Duration: 3 min 27 s
Description: Coronavirus: weird and wonderful vaccination centres around the world to fight Covid-19

The retailer accused Letitia James of overstepping bounds by legally threatening the company and demanding remedies like its surrender of profit

Amazon drew scrutiny last year after it fired Christian Smalls, a Staten Island warehouse worker, who had protested safety conditions

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A woman works at Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse in New York. File photo: AFP

Reuters

Published: 10:15pm, 12 Feb 2021Updated: 5:55am, 13 Feb 2021

Amazon.com on Friday sued New York’s attorney general to stop the state from taking legal action over its early Covid-19 response, including its firing of activist Christian Smalls.

The retailer drew scrutiny 10 months ago when workers protested conditions at a Staten Island warehouse and it fired Smalls for violating a paid quarantine. Senators questioned Amazon about the incident, the city announced a probe, and State Attorney General Letitia James said the company may have violated the law.

In a complaint in Brooklyn federal court, Amazon accused James of overstepping bounds by legally threatening the company and demanding remedies like its surrender of profit. Federal labour and safety laws pre-empt those of the state, from which Amazon is seeking injunctive relief, its suit said.

James called Amazon’s lawsuit “a sad attempt to distract from the facts and shirk accountability for its failures to protect hardworking employees from a deadly virus.”

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Coronavirus: weird and wonderful vaccination centres around the world to fight Covid-19

The atypical lawsuit shows how Amazon believes it was unfairly maligned despite the many Covid-19 precautions it implemented, most recently virus tests and plans for vaccine administration. It also demonstrates how the company will not back down from criticism of its workplace.