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New Jersey Sues Amazon Over Treatment of Pregnant and Disabled Warehouse Workers

The case stems from a multi-year civil-rights probe seeking court-ordered changes to Amazon’s accommodation policies.

Overview

  • Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed the civil-rights complaint in Essex County Superior Court, alleging discrimination against pregnant employees and workers with disabilities at New Jersey warehouses.
  • The suit says Amazon denied or delayed reasonable accommodations, placed workers on unpaid leave, and terminated or disciplined some after they requested help or failed to meet strict productivity quotas.
  • The filing follows a New Jersey Division on Civil Rights investigation that reviewed thousands of cases, including a two-year span with more than 27,000 accommodation requests at facilities employing roughly 50,000 workers.
  • New Jersey seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, civil penalties, injunctive relief to change company policies, and monitoring and reporting requirements for five years.
  • Amazon rejects the allegations as false, citing an approval rate above 99% for pregnancy accommodation requests since 2022 and paid-leave benefits; the action comes days after a separate state suit over Flex driver classification and amid ongoing federal scrutiny.