Friday, March 04, 2022

Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez call for an investigation into Amazon's absence policy for workers

Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
(Left to right) Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.Lou Rocco/ABC via Getty ImagesEC/Joe Raedle/Getty Images/Win McNamee/Getty Images
  • Six Democrat lawmakers wrote to the Department of Labor and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

  • They asked for the DOL and EEOC to investigate whether Amazon's absence policy breaks federal laws.

  • The lawmakers said Amazon's policy penalizes workers for emergency time-off.

A group of Democrat lawmakers are calling on the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to investigate Amazon's absence policy for workers, which the believe could be illegally penalizing workers.

Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Richard Blumenthal as well as Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cory Booker, and Cori Bush sent a letter to the DOL and EEOC Thursday.

In the letter, the lawmakers say they believe Amazon's absence policies could be in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"Amazon's Attendance Points Policy punishes workers for missing work unexpectedly, regardless of the reason," the lawmakers wrote.

They cite a January report from legal advocacy nonprofit A Better Balance. In the report, A Better Balance included a screenshot of Amazon's policy on absences, which said the policy had taken effect on October 24, 2021.

The policy gives two examples of how workers can be penalized. The first is "Absence Submission Infractions," which workers accrue if they don't notify their warehouse of an absence more than two hours before their shift starts.

"Amazon will review your employment for termination if you get 3 ASIs in a rolling 60-day period," the policy states.

Workers can also accrue "attendance points," which they get for absences "not covered by leave of absence of an approved time-off option." According to the policy published by A Better Balance, eight absence points will result in Amazon reviewing a worker's employment.

The Democrat lawmakers said these policies don't take into account emergency time off, which is protected under federal law.

"For example, if a worker's child had a severe asthma attack the night before a shift, and the worker took the child to the emergency room, then, under the FMLA, Amazon cannot require the worker to leave the child to report the absence while the child is receiving emergency treatment," the letter states.

"Amazon's policy, however, appears to punish this legally-protected right if it results in delayed notice of an absence," it adds.

The letter also accused Amazon of failing to inform workers of their rights, "keeping workers in the dark about the existing protections to which they are entitled, and intimidating them from exercising these rights by threats of termination."

Amazon did not immediately reply when contacted by Insider for comment.

The DOL and EEOC did not immediately respond when contacted by Insider outside of normal US working hours.

Sens. Sanders and Warren urge investigation into Amazon's 'no-fault' attendance policy

Workers push hand trucks on the incoming goods floor during operations at Amazon's Robbinsville fulfillment center in Robbinsville, New Jersey, U.S., November 29, 2021. Picture taken November 29, 2021. 
REUTERS/Mike Segar (Mike Segar / reuters)


Amrita Khalid
·Contributing Writer
Thu, March 3, 2022

A group of Democratic lawmakers led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) want regulators to take a closer look at Amazon’s points-based attendance policy, which they believe may be punishing workers for taking legally protected time off. First reported by Vice, the letter to the Department of Labor and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission focuses on Amazon’s “no-fault” approach to absences, which adds points every time an employee misses work without giving advance notice, regardless of the reason. If workers reach a certain number of points, they are automatically reviewed for termination.

Under the company’s attendance policy, an employee whose child has suddenly fallen ill or who suffers a medical emergency would still be penalized. Employees who don’t report absences at least 16 hours before the start of shift receive two points on their record. If they give notice less than two hours before a shift, they receive two points and an “absence submission infraction”. If workers receive three absence submission infractions and eight attendance points, Amazon will consider firing them.

Lawmakers believe that Amazon’s attendance policy could violate current laws that allow workers to take sick, family, medical and pregnancy leave. For example, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees eligible workers unpaid leave for a variety of circumstances, including pregnancy or the need to take care of a sick family member.

“We field numerous calls from Amazon employees; while many workers know about Amazon’s punitive attendance policies, they describe never receiving information about the federal, state, and local laws that entitle them to legally protected time off—much less understanding how such laws apply in practice in their own lives,” noted labor rights group Better Balance in a letter to Congress.

Other companies with "no-fault" attendance policies have run into legal troubles in the past. Back in 2011, Verizon was ordered to pay $20 million after the EEOC found that the company's no-fault attendance policy made no exceptions for disabled workers.

Many warehouse workers have complained that Amazon neglected to inform them of their rights under FMLA or disability laws. The company has had a poor track record with how it treats workers at its many warehouses and fulfillment centers. A number of warehouses, in response to poor working conditions at the e-commerce giant, are currently pushing to unionize.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that workers don't have to give advance notice under FMLA. In fact, this only applies to unforeseeable circumstances. For non-emergency events, workers are asked to provide at least 30 days notice.

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