According to www.seattletimes.com, four former Amazon warehouse employees filed a proposed nationwide class action in Brooklyn, N.Y., federal court on Tuesday, accusing the company of systemic discrimination against pregnant workers in violation of the 2022 Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
Allegations of Denial and Retaliation
The lawsuit claims Amazon denied basic accommodations—including stools, lighter workloads, and bathroom breaks—to pregnant employees, despite federal law requiring “reasonable accommodation” for pregnancy-related medical conditions. Under the law, which took effect in June 2023, employers with 15 or more workers must grant such accommodations unless they can demonstrate “undue hardship.” One plaintiff, Jennifer Hatch, worked in Lancaster, N.Y., processing customer returns and was advised by her doctor in January 2025 to sit regularly due to a high-risk pregnancy. Her requests for a 30-pound lifting restriction, a 15-minute sitting break every four hours, and an eight-hour maximum shift were delayed and ultimately denied.
According to the complaint, a manager refused to let Hatch sit in an available chair in early March 2025, even as she struggled to breathe. When she clocked out early multiple times to seek hospital care for pregnancy-related abdominal pain worsened by prolonged standing, Amazon docked her unpaid time off balance and later terminated her for violating attendance policy.
Inimai Chettiar, president of nonprofit A Better Balance, which represents the plaintiffs alongside law firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel, stated:
“Denying a pregnant worker a stool, a lighter workload or a bathroom break is a violation of federal law — it’s that simple.” — Inimai Chettiar, president of A Better Balance
Amazon’s Defense and Compliance Claims
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit’s account “inaccurate.” She asserted that Amazon has approved more than 99.9% of pregnancy related accommodations over the past year and emphasized the company’s commitment to supporting “tens of thousands of employees with pregnancy accommodations each year.” Nantel added that “the accounts shared by A Better Balance contain inaccuracies and omit important details.”
The lawsuit references prior state investigations in New York and New Jersey, as well as findings from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), to support its claim that Amazon’s “discriminatory and retaliatory policies” are well-documented. The EEOC has actively enforced the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act since its implementation, even amid legal challenges—including a federal judge’s decision last year to strike down the abortion-related provision of EEOC regulations and a separate lawsuit filed by the state of Texas challenging the law’s constitutionality based on procedural concerns tied to its passage in December 2022.
Chettiar underscored the broader impact in an emailed statement to the Associated Press:
“Lower wage, shift and hourly women workers are foundational to this country’s economy — yet they’re being treated as disposable. And practices that deny pregnant workers simple accommodations that pose no threat to productivity are not just unfair, they’re illegal.” — Inimai Chettiar, president of A Better Balance
Source: seattletimes.com
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
