California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Monday that e-commerce behemoth Amazon Inc. is refusing to comply with the state’s outstanding subpoenas to investigate the company’s facilities across the state for improper coronavirus safety protocols.
Becerra’s office filed a petition in Sacramento County Superior Court in an effort to force Amazon to comply with the investigation.
The state Department of Justice issued multiple investigative subpoenas Aug. 19, after months of communication with the company about workplace health and safety.
“Amazon has made billions during this pandemic relying on the labor of essential workers,” Becerra said in a prepared statement. “Their workers get the job done while putting themselves at risk.”
The state Department of Justice is seeking concrete details about Amazon’s efforts to prevent the virus spreading in its facilities as well as the number of coronavirus cases and deaths linked to its California facilities.
According to the petition, Amazon has rebuked multiple requests from the California DOJ for information about its safety protocols.
A spokesperson for Amazon said the company has been cooperating with the state for months and that the company is “puzzled by the attorney general’s sudden rush to court.”
“The bottom line is that we’re a leader in providing Covid-19 safety measures for our employees—we’ve invested billions of dollars in equipment and technology, including building on-site testing for employees and providing personal protective equipment,” the Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “We encourage anyone to compare our speed and actions in this area to any other major employer.”
The state’s investigation into the company’s workplace safety measures remains ongoing, Becerra said. “It’s critical to know if these workers are receiving the protections on the job that they are entitled to under the law,” he said. “Time is of the essence.”
The AG should also be looking into Facebook’s operations with Accenture as they are practicing the same shady tactics Amazon uses on it’s employees.
How is banks only allowed to have 1 person and 1 teller in the building but hundreds of Amazon and Accenture workers working in the same building using same toilets, breathing same air? Numbers going up and they force people into the office at Accenture or you lose your job? What kind of logic is that. Same with Amazon I am hearing.
Businesses are dying but these corporate monsters (Facebook & Amazon) take advantage of human labor. Guess they consider us collateral damage.
This also proves the classism and caste system both these companies operate under. The FTE employees and non-contract workers that are not laborers or moderators are working from home yet the others can’t work from home either?
Investigate these corporate giants that seem to treat workers as cattle rather than people.
Not to mention they force workers to work on the holidays and intimidate anyone who feels uncomfortable and needs time away.
nothing and I mean nothing is going to happen to any of these big tech companies
whining for it is as useless as arguing with carrot
Biden, and even more so Harris, are totally beholden to these companies.
They totally own Harris, I really can’t believe these rags spiked that.
And you made it happen!
Congrats!