NJ’s Largest Private Employer Faces 2 Lawsuits Over Worker Rights

New Jersey has slapped Amazon with two lawsuits in the span of a week.

On Wednesday, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General announced that it filed a complaint in state superior court, accusing the largest private employer in the state of trying to drive pregnant employees and workers with disabilities out of its workforce.

According to the attorney general’s office, employers are required to provide these workers with “reasonable accommodations” under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination – as long as it doesn’t create an “undue hardship.”

State prosecutors are alleging that Amazon violated the law by doing the following things:

• Placed pregnant workers and workers with disabilities on unpaid leave when they request accommodations
• Retaliated against these workers, including by firing them, when they seek accommodations
• Denied reasonable accommodations to these workers
• Delayed its response to accommodation requests by workers
• Terminated pregnant workers and workers with disabilities who receive accommodations for failing to meet the company’s “rigid productivity requirements”

In one case, a pregnant employee asked her bosses to let her use a wheelchair – and was placed on unpaid leave while the request was pending, prosecutors alleged.

Another pregnant worker asked not to lift heavy items because she was at high risk of a miscarriage. Amazon closed the request because she didn’t file the paperwork within seven days, something that state law doesn’t allow, prosecutors said.

In another case, a worker told their boss that they had trouble lifting heavy things or reaching for things on the highest shelf because of a disability. Instead of working with the employee to find a suitable accommodation, Amazon terminated them just weeks later, investigators alleged.

Amazon currently employs nearly 50,000 workers in its dozens of warehouses across the state. The company’s internal records show that it receives thousands of requests for accommodations from workers with disabilities and pregnant workers in its warehouses every year, prosecutors said.

The lawsuit was filed after a years-long investigation at dozens of Amazon warehouses across New Jersey.

The state is seeking an injunction to stop Amazon from “discriminating against pregnant workers and workers with disabilities,” as well as civil monetary penalties and punitive damages, prosecutors said.

“Put simply, Amazon has exploited pregnant workers and workers with disabilities in its New Jersey warehouses,” Attorney General Matt Platkin alleged.

“In building a trillion-dollar business, Amazon has flagrantly violated their rights and ignored their well-being – all while it continues to profit off their labor,” Platkin added.

An Amazon spokesperson disputed the state’s allegations, offering the following statement to Patch:

“The claims that we don’t follow federal and state laws like the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act or the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination are simply not true. Ensuring the health and well-being of our employees is our top priority, and we’re committed to providing a safe and supportive environment for everyone. The fact is we offer employees comprehensive accommodations throughout their pregnancy journey and postpartum. Since 2022, we’ve processed more than 72,500 pregnancy accommodations requests in U.S. Operations alone, and our current approval rate for pregnancy accommodation requests is higher than 99%. We also offer up to 20 weeks of fully paid leave for eligible birthing parents.”

According to Amazon’s website, the company offers up to 20 weeks of fully paid leave for birthing parents, including four weeks before the baby is born.

“Amazon welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate fully and equally in the hiring process and on the job,” the company’s website says. “Reasonable accommodations are offered at every turn, so if you have a disability, you're encouraged to apply.”

FLEX DELIVERY DRIVER LAWSUIT

Earlier this week, state prosecutors filed a separate lawsuit against the company involving Amazon Flex delivery drivers.

Flex drivers deliver packages for Amazon to commercial and residential locations, using their own vehicles and paying for their own expenses, including gas, insurance, maintenance and tolls.

Prosecutors are accusing Amazon of misclassifying the workers as “independent contractors” instead of regular employees – depriving them of wages, benefits and legal job protections.

While Amazon Flex drivers may have a choice when they work, the company has “significant control” over how they perform their work – such as the time, method and manner of how deliveries are made, investigators said.

“Furthermore, Amazon caps the number of shifts drivers can sign up for each week, but the company does not restrict the actual hours drivers work, nor does Amazon pay drivers for routes that take longer than anticipated,” prosecutors alleged.

Meanwhile, if a driver needs to complete extra tasks in a day or week to follow Amazon’s delivery policies – such as returning undeliverable packages – the company does not pay them, even if its policies cause the driver to work over 40 hours a week, prosecutors said.

Thousands of Flex drivers have been working in New Jersey since at least 2017, authorities said.

The lawsuit seeks to “stop Amazon’s ongoing unlawful behavior, obtain wages improperly withheld from Flex drivers, impose fines and penalties, recover unpaid monies and associated penalties and interest due to the State Unemployment Compensation and Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance funds, and recover reasonable costs of enforcement, including attorneys’ fees.”

• See Related: NJ Amazon Flex Drivers Demand Safety Commitment, Better Pay

Amazon defended its Flex practice, saying the service allows drivers personal breaks and that employees are offered the minimum dollar amounts allowed for delivery blocks – money that is still earned even if a driver completes a route early.

“We’re still reviewing the lawsuit, but one thing is already clear: it’s wrong on the facts and the law, and misrepresents what Amazon Flex is and how it works,” a spokesperson told NJ Advance Media.

Authorities have argued otherwise.

“Let’s not make any mistake about this: when a trillion-dollar company says it is providing you with ‘a flexible way of earning extra money on your own schedule,’ it is not offering this opportunity for your benefit,” Platkin alleged.

“Amazon is looking out for itself,” the attorney general said.

The state’s lawsuit got a thumbs-up from local advocacy group Make the Road New Jersey, which has been a vocal critic of the retail giant.

“Flex drivers have been sounding the alarm bell over Amazon’s illegal practices for years, and today, [state prosecutors] have taken a powerful step to ensure that workers are treated with dignity and respect,” said the group’s director, Nedia Morsy.

• See Related: Rideshare Company Pays $19M To New Jersey After Audit Involving Drivers
• See Related: NJ Newspaper Delivery Company Accused Of Misclassifying Workers

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