Amazon accused in lawsuit of systematic discrimination against pregnant employees
Amazon logo is seen in this illustration taken February 11, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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NEW YORK, Sept 8 : Amazon.com was sued on Tuesday in a proposed nationwide class action accusing the retailer of systematically discriminating against thousands of pregnant employees, including by firing some it claimed took too much time off.
According to a complaint filed by four former warehouse employees, Amazon routinely violates federal and New York worker-protection laws by denying pregnant workers basic accommodations such as chairs, bathroom and water breaks, and time off for prenatal appointments.
The complaint said Amazon threatens and regularly fires pregnant employees who miss too much work, and illegally demands medical documentation from those seeking accommodations. It said these actions violate the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and New York labor law.
“Amazon is one of this country’s largest employers, [and] it is no surprise that many of its workers become pregnant,” according to the complaint filed in the Brooklyn, New York, federal court. “Yet Amazon violates the law at every turn.”
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Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson, said the retailer provides pregnancy-related accommodations to tens of thousands of employees annually, and approved more than 99.9 per cent of requests in the last year. “Ensuring the health and well-being of our employees is one of our greatest responsibilities,” she said.
The lawsuit seeks lost pay and benefits, punitive damages, and an injunction against discrimination against pregnant employees.
Amazon has long faced complaints in court about its treatment of employees, including those seeking to unionize.
The Seattle-based retailer is the second-largest U.S. private employer, trailing Walmart, with 1.58 million full-time and part-time employees at the end of 2025.
HOSPITALIZATION LED TO DISMISSAL, LAWSUIT SAYS
Tuesday’s lawsuit was filed by A Better Balance, a nonprofit that advocates for workers’ rights.
It came 11 months after New Jersey sued Amazon, accusing it of widespread discrimination against warehouse employees who had disabilities or were pregnant. New York filed a similar case in 2022.
One plaintiff, Willamina Barclay, said Amazon gave her a termination warning on June 17, 2025, one day after she was taken in a wheelchair out of its Rochester, New York, warehouse and hospitalized with a pregnancy-related emergency.
Barclay said she was suffering severe abdominal pain from lifting heavy objects, but Amazon claimed the hospital visit pushed her over her limit for unpaid time off, and docked her because she “worked partially that day.”
She was fired five days later, the complaint said.
Nantel said the four plaintiffs’ accounts “contain inaccuracies and omit important details.”
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission plans in November to propose changes to regulations underlying the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
That agency has aligned itself with U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies, and EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said in 2024 that the regulations for pregnant employees are too broad.
The EEOC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The office of New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, whose predecessor filed that state’s lawsuit, did not immediately respond to similar requests.
Source: Reuters
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