With only 39 cases filed in Circuit Courts against Amazon.com (Amazon listed as the beginning of the Defendant name with non-Amazon related entities removed), it’s clear that a lot of cases against Amazon are being settled before going to court. Amazon has become a massive company, a true giant, employing over half a million people. It rules the online retail marketplace and has expanded into television streaming, tech development, and brick and mortar grocery stores. Last year it posted record breaking profits in the billions. It is one of the most recognizable brands in the world and will likely remain so into the foreseeable future.
Most of the Amazon lawsuits are workers’ compensation and personal injury cases. There are hundreds of thousands of factory workers and a fleet of delivery vehicles. Amazon is known for its speed. A company moving that fast, with that many employees, with that many vehicles out on the road, is going to have accidents, crashes, lawsuits, and injuries. It’s the nature of the beast.
But it’s not just personal injury, auto crash and workers’ comp cases…
Amazon and Workers’ Rights
Under the law, most employees are entitled to certain kinds of protections. They cannot be harassed or discriminated against at their job on the basis of gender, age, religion, race, or disability. Break time for meals and bathroom use must be stipulated. Pregnant workers cannot be fired or demoted if they are still able to perform their major job duties.
According to several lawsuits against Amazon in the news, these regulations have been violated. A group of warehouse workers allege they were illegally fired after announcing their pregnancies to their supervisors. In most of the cases, they were put on light duty restrictions by their doctor and struggled to get the proper accommodations before being terminated. These restrictions included no heavy lifting and increased access to bathroom breaks. The claims filed against Amazon argued that these restrictions were reasonable, and that Amazon should have treated a pregnant worker requesting accommodations the same as a non-pregnant worker requesting equal accommodations. Most of the suits settled out of court and the plaintiffs received an undisclosed compensation package.
Inadequate access to bathroom breaks is a recurring allegation in lawsuits against Amazon. A recent high-profile claim was filed by a former call center employee with Chron’s disease who accused Amazon of illegally firing him for “time theft” when his bathroom use exceeded the company’s standard break policy. The employee argued that Chron’s disease is a serious intestinal disorder that can require frequent and unexpected trips to the bathroom and requested accommodations on the basis that he had a disability. Amazon allegedly told him that changing their break policy for him meant they would have to change it for everyone, which the lawsuit argues is not true under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
Several ongoing lawsuits against Amazon claim the company engaged in illegal price fixing to gouge customers and destroy its competitors. A class action suit filed by e-book customers has alleged that Amazon colluded with major book publishers to artificially inflate pricing and prevent e-book titles from being sold at a lower price on competing websites. With roughly 90% control of the e-book market, Amazon stands to gain handsomely from this arrangement.
An independent bookstore in Illinois filed suit claiming that a similar Amazon price gouging scheme has siphoned away its customer base. In this instance Amazon allegedly coordinated identical contracts with five major publishing houses to control retail pricing of print books. This effectively blocked smaller booksellers from undercutting Amazon’s prices and competing in the marketplace.
Can Amazon be liable when they sell a defective or dangerous product? This issue is one of the latest in Amazon.com lawsuit news.
With only 39 cases filed in Circuit Courts against Amazon.com (Amazon listed as the beginning of the Defendant name with non-Amazon related entities removed), it’s clear that a lot of cases against Amazon are being settled before going to court. Amazon has become a massive company, a true giant, employing over half a million people. It rules the online retail marketplace and has expanded into television streaming, tech development, and brick and mortar grocery stores. Last year it posted record breaking profits in the billions. It is one of the most recognizable brands in the world and will likely remain so into the foreseeable future.
Most of the Amazon lawsuits are workers’ compensation and personal injury cases. There are hundreds of thousands of factory workers and a fleet of delivery vehicles. Amazon is known for its speed. A company moving that fast, with that many employees, with that many vehicles out on the road, is going to have accidents, crashes, lawsuits, and injuries. It’s the nature of the beast.
For more information from lawyers who handle injury cases against Amazon, click here.
But it’s not just personal injury, auto crash and workers’ comp cases…
Amazon and Workers’ Rights
Under the law, most employees are entitled to certain kinds of protections. They cannot be harassed or discriminated against at their job on the basis of gender, age, religion, race, or disability. Break time for meals and bathroom use must be stipulated. Pregnant workers cannot be fired or demoted if they are still able to perform their major job duties.
According to several lawsuits against Amazon in the news, these regulations have been violated. A group of warehouse workers allege they were illegally fired after announcing their pregnancies to their supervisors. In most of the cases, they were put on light duty restrictions by their doctor and struggled to get the proper accommodations before being terminated. These restrictions included no heavy lifting and increased access to bathroom breaks. The claims filed against Amazon argued that these restrictions were reasonable, and that Amazon should have treated a pregnant worker requesting accommodations the same as a non-pregnant worker requesting equal accommodations. Most of the suits settled out of court and the plaintiffs received an undisclosed compensation package.
Inadequate access to bathroom breaks is a recurring allegation in lawsuits against Amazon. A recent high-profile claim was filed by a former call center employee with Chron’s disease who accused Amazon of illegally firing him for “time theft” when his bathroom use exceeded the company’s standard break policy. The employee argued that Chron’s disease is a serious intestinal disorder that can require frequent and unexpected trips to the bathroom and requested accommodations on the basis that he had a disability. Amazon allegedly told him that changing their break policy for him meant they would have to change it for everyone, which the lawsuit argues is not true under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).
A separate class action lawsuit filed by a group of California warehouse employees claimed they were denied their lawful access to 10-minute bathroom breaks for every four hours worked. Amazon disputes this, of course. But it did recently admit that its delivery drivers are sometimes forced to relieve themselves in bottles. That doesn’t sound like a company prioritizing workers’ rights.
Amazon and Anti-Trust Lawsuits
Several ongoing lawsuits against Amazon claim the company engaged in illegal price fixing to gouge customers and destroy its competitors. A class action suit filed by e-book customers has alleged that Amazon colluded with major book publishers to artificially inflate pricing and prevent e-book titles from being sold at a lower price on competing websites. With roughly 90% control of the e-book market, Amazon stands to gain handsomely from this arrangement.
An independent bookstore in Illinois filed suit claiming that a similar Amazon price gouging scheme has siphoned away its customer base. In this instance Amazon allegedly coordinated identical contracts with five major publishing houses to control retail pricing of print books. This effectively blocked smaller booksellers from undercutting Amazon’s prices and competing in the marketplace.
Can Amazon be liable when they sell a defective or dangerous product? This issue is one of the latest in Amazon.com lawsuit news.
Last updated May 14, 2021