As the holidays approach, Amazon, the large online retailer, has kicked of the season of giving with its second annual Amazon Prime Day, offering specials for two days throughout the month of October. Usually, the holiday season is kicked off in November with Black Friday specials, but this year, the additional month has started the season early.
As we are living through this pandemic that is maintained and controlled through safety practices like mask-wearing, surface sanitation, frequency hand washing, and social distancing, Amazon’s workplace practices can put more workers at risk.
Prior to Amazon day, in order to support efforts to keep workers safe, Amazon implemented safety practices such as providing worker’s with masks and sanitation materials, enforcing social distancing by providing monitoring workers with circles of light that are green indicating safe distance, or red indicating that workers are not far enough from one another.
One other form of promoting the safety of workers was temporarily halting a practice called time-off-task (TOT), where workers were monitored for each second of unproductivity. The purpose of suspending this form of monitoring is to ensure that workers are allowed the extra time needed to properly sanitize and practice social distancing.
However, this practice is making a comeback and is already causing issues for employees who face repercussions for not meeting productivity standards while trying to navigate social distancing and safety.
Not only this, but the Amazon warehouses are also expected to get more packed this holiday season as well. CNN reports that since the onset of the coronavirus, Amazon hired more than 175,000 people, and for the holiday season plans to bring on more than 100,000 people. Last year, the corporation brought on 200,000 employees.
The L.A. Times Reports that Amazon announced on October 1st that more than 20,000 of the company’s U.S. based workers have contracted coronavirus. With the higher demand to send out more packages out faster this holiday season, we are likely to see the number of cases from the company rise.
If you’re experiencing wage and hour violations or workplace retaliation for expressing your concerns about safety or other issues in the workplace at Amazon or anywhere else, the attorneys at West Coast Employment Lawyers are here to help. Contact us 24/7 by calling (213) 927 – 3700 or by emailing info@employmentattorneylosangeles.com to set up an appointment for a free consultation.
