Amazon has implemented “inadequate” safety measures in New York warehouses to protect workers amid the coronavirus pandemic, the state’s attorney general said in a letter obtained by NPR. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office said that Amazon’s decision to fire Christian Smalls, a Staten Island worker who protested the company’s resistance to close the warehouse after several employees contracted the virus, has raised “serious concern that Amazon may have discharged [Smalls] in order to silence his complaints.” The state officials argue that the move sends “a threatening message to other employees that they should also keep quiet about any health and safety concerns.” Amazon, however, has claimed that Smalls was fired for refusing to adhere to safety orders.
“While we continue to investigate,” the letter continues, “the information so far available to us raises concerns that Amazon’s health and safety measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are so inadequate that they may violate several provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act.”
