Amazon told workers paid sick leave law doesn't cover warehouses, report says

California extends paid sick leave law to food workers as retail giant's employees demand stronger workplace protections

Amazon warehouse workers in California say the company refuses to comply with the state's law guaranteeing paid sick leave for food workers during the coronavirus crisis.

Governor Gavin Newsom extended the state's sick leave policy to allow two weeks of paid leave for food workers — including "workers at warehouses where food is stored" — to prevent transmitting the virus if they get sick. The law applies to companies with at least 500 workers in the US.

But the retail and tech giant has told its workers that the executive order doesn't apply to its warehouses, according to The Guardian, which revealed that workers who asked the company's human resources staff whether the law applies to them and were told that it does not.

Workers in Inland Empire in southern California, where Covid-19 cases have been identified in six Amazon warehouses, told The Guardian that the policy has forced many workers to decide between exposing themselves to Covid-19 or losing work.

The region houses several large warehouses for shipping and logistics from some of the largest retailers in the US, including Amazon and Walmart.

Amazon recently ended its unlimited unpaid time off policy, which allowed workers during the onset of the pandemic to leave work without losing their job — whether to care for a sick family member or for childcare — though they wouldn't be paid in that time.

In a statement, Amazon said the company has "complied with all requirements" from the state.

The company's policies have been targeted in a series of unprecedented strikes among retail and warehouse workers over the last several weeks, as workers organised to demand stronger workplace protections, including personal protective equipment, hazard pay and guaranteed paid leave.

Some workers, such as former Amazon warehouse employee Christopher Smalls in New York, have been fired after speaking out.

Mr Smalls was sacked during a walkout in March staged in protest of conditions at the company's Staten Island facility after an employee had tested positive for Covid-19.

In a statement, Amazon said he was fired for "putting the health and safety of others at risk and violations of his terms of his employment" and "violating social-distancing guidelines" at the warehouse.

At least 29 workers from the facility became ill, including an employee who recently died from an illness related to the virus.

The worker was last on-site on 5 April and was positively diagnosed on 11 April.

A group of Amazon workers has tallied at least 500 other cases among employees across 125 facilities in the US.

Following company-wide complaints and allegations that Amazon "failed" its workers, vice president and engineer Tim Bray resigned last week.

In a lengthy letter to Amazon staff, Mr Bray said the firings of workers is "designed to create a climate of fear" in the warehouses.

"I quit in dismay at Amazon firing whistle-blowers who were making noise about warehouse employees frightened of Covid-19," said Mr Bray, who had worked for Amazon for more than five years.

"Firing whistle-blowers isn't just a side-effect of macroeconomic forces, nor is it intrinsic to the function of free markets," he said. "It's evidence of a vein of toxicity running through the company culture. I choose neither to serve nor drink that poison."​

Amazon saw an explosion in revenue over the first quarter of 2020, but CEO Jeff Bezos told shareholders that company's net income fell 31 per cent and shares fell by roughly 5 per cent as Amazon spent more to address the spike in delivery orders.

"Because of the failings of our employers, many of our fellow employees have contracted this deadly virus and some have died," Mr Bray wrote. "Although there have been some changes in company policies, they are not enough to adequately protect us."