California- Amazon will pay a fine of $500,000 for not sharing Covid Data. Also not to inform its warehouse workers about Covid-19 cases in the workplace. The firm reached a legal settlement, however, did not agree to wrongdoing. California attorney general said workers had been left ‘’terrified and powerless’’.
Also, Amazon has started sharing a total number of Covid-cases with the Staff. Though the law does not require the company to do so.
Right to know
It is the first submission of the State’s ‘’right to know’’ regulations that require employers to keep staff aware of the cases. And notify them for their safety. According to sources, the law now requires companies to inform employers of potential Covid exposure at their workplace. Additionally, tell them about pandemic-relevant protections, benefits, safety plans, and report cases to local health organizations.
Barbara Grait, Amazon Spokeswomen said that the firm had not breached the law, and had always informed workers of any exposure to cases of the virus. Additionally, the firm actively did contract tracing.
‘’The California law doesn’t specify we had to give numbers in those notifications. However, the firm was now providing that information within 24 hours for staff at its California sites.’’
Despite, high prices and inflation, online companies are doing great. They are running higher than last year. Meanwhile, families are expected to gather indoors for thanksgiving. Which also gives an edge for online sellers.
Criticism on Amazon
Amazon is facing a lot of criticism through the course of the pandemic for its approach to the safety of its workers.
California attorney general Rob Bonta said, ‘’ as the company enjoyed booming and historic sales with its stock price doubling, Amazon failed to adequately notify warehouse workers and local health agencies of Covid cases numbers, often leaving them unable to effectively track the spread of the virus.’’
He added, ‘’ this left many workers understandably terrified and powerless to make informed decisions to protect themselves and to protect their loved ones.’’
Meanwhile, Ms. Agrait said that we are glad to have resolved this issue and see that the Attorney General found no substantive issue with our safety measures.
He added, ‘’ We’ve worked hard from the beginning of the pandemic to keep our employees safe and deliver for our customers- incurring more than $15bn in costs to date- and we’ll keep doing that in months and years ahead.’’
Amazon is also facing legal action in New York over its Safety policy and has been criticized for its policies elsewhere.
