Amazon accused of putting profit before virus safety in New York

An employee pulls a cart full of items at Amazon's JFK8 distribution center in Staten Island, New York. James alleges that since the start of the pandemic last March, the company failed to do enough cleaning and disinfection; didn’t notify workers who have been in contact with infected colleagues; and maintained productivity policies that don’t give workers enough time for hygiene and social distancing. — Reuters

Amazon.com Inc has failed to comply with workplace safety rules during the pandemic and retaliated against warehouse workers who raised concerns, New York alleged in a lawsuit against the retail giant.

“Amazon’s flagrant disregard for health and safety requirements has threatened serious illness and grave harm to the thousands of workers in these facilities and poses a continued substantial and specific danger to the public health,” Letitia James, the state’s attorney general, said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday.