By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) -The state of New Jersey sued Amazon.com on Wednesday, accusing the company of unlawfully refusing workplace accommodations to warehouse employees who have disabilities or were pregnant and firing some who asked for them.
The lawsuit filed in New Jersey state court by the office of Attorney General Matthew Platkin, a Democrat, is the latest to place the safety and treatment of Amazon warehouse workers vital to the company’s speedy delivery model under legal scrutiny.
New Jersey claimed that Amazon routinely denies reasonable requests, such as for time off or limits on heavy lifting, and then places workers who seek them on unpaid leave, in violation of state anti-discrimination law. Workers who are granted accommodations often have trouble keeping up with Amazon’s rigid production quotas, setting them up to be fired, Platkin’s office said.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and penalties, as well as an order requiring Amazon to modify its employment practices.
“In building a trillion-dollar business, Amazon has flagrantly violated (workers’) rights and ignored their well-being – all while it continues to profit off their labor,” Platkin said in a statement.
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has denied engaging in similar conduct in other cases, and has said it strives to support its workers.
Amazon is the second-largest private employer in the United States, behind Walmart. Amazon operates nearly 40 distribution centers and smaller “sort centers” with roughly 50,000 employees in New Jersey.
Federal law and many states including New Jersey require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant and disabled workers who request them.
Amazon has faced a number of lawsuits in recent years involving claims of pregnancy or disability discrimination. The company in August settled a proposed class action in California alleging that pregnant employees were not permitted to take leave. The terms of that settlement were not disclosed.
The company is facing an investigation into similar claims by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces federal laws barring employment discrimination.
Amazon has denied wrongdoing in those cases.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Will Dunham)
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