Amazon sued over "punitive" policy for disabled warehouse employees

Amazon was sued in a proposed class action lawsuit on Wednesday, alleging the retailer subjects thousands of warehouse employees with disabilities to a "punitive" absence policy. The complaint claims Amazon docks unpaid time off when it requires New York employees seeking disability accommodations to stay home, and subsequently threatens termination for excessive absences.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, alleges that Amazon’s practices "chill employees' exercise of their legal rights" because workers fear discipline and firing if they request reasonable accommodation. Amazon, the largest private-sector US employer after Walmart, offered no immediate comment.

The lawsuit is led by Cayla Lyster, an hourly worker at a New York Amazon warehouse near Syracuse who has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Lyster claims Amazon repeatedly placed her on unpaid leave, once for nearly six weeks, while reviewing her requests for accommodations such as a chair to sit on and an exemption from climbing ladders. She alleges supervisors also berated her for seeking assistance.

Lyster contends that Amazon’s "punitive absence control system" subjects employees who accumulate too much unpaid leave to intimidating emails demanding they justify their absences within 48 hours or risk being fired, thus threatening those who exercise their rights to seek accommodation.

The lawsuit seeks damages for all hourly warehouse workers in New York state over the last three years who sought, or intended to seek, disability accommodations. Inimai Chettiar, president of A Better Balance, a legal advocacy group involved in the filing, stated, "Workers shouldn't ever need to choose between their safety and their paycheck."

This filing follows a separate lawsuit filed last month by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, which accused Amazon of frequently denying reasonable accommodation requests and repeatedly placing pregnant workers and those with disabilities on unpaid leave. Amazon denied Platkin's claims, stating it approves over 99% of pregnancy-related accommodation requests.