Amazon firings fuel controversy over virus response

Amazon’s move to fire three employees is stoking the controversy over its worker policies during the coronavirus outbreak and bringing new criticism from Washington.

The online retail giant confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday that it had fired three employees who publicly criticized warehouse conditions and safety measures for workers amid the outbreak, adding fuel to the simmering debate.

Those firings followed the dismissal of another worker, Chris Smalls, and the leaking of memos that critics said detailed plans to smear the former Long Island warehouse employee. Lawmakers and regulators slammed Amazon for its treatment of Smalls, and John Oliver brought even more attention to the issue on his HBO show this weekend.

At the center of the controversy is criticism that Amazon has been slow to ease its rules on paid leave for sick employees, provide personal protective equipment and put in place policies to maximize social distancing at facilities.

On Tuesday, the company confirmed that an Amazon warehouse worker died on March 31 after contracting the virus. It is unknown if the worker was exposed at work and Amazon said he did not show any symptoms on his last day on the job.

The company has taken steps to try to reassure employees that it is committed to protecting them. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos last week visited Amazon warehouses and a Whole Foods store, and the retailer has announced several new safety measures.

At the same time, the company is seeing business boom and has hired 100,000 new workers since the coronavirus crisis began and announced plans to bring on 75,000 more. Amazon stock hit an all-time high on Tuesday, giving the company a market value of more than $1.1 trillion. But the firings are bringing fresh scrutiny on the company’s workplace practices and energizing its toughest critics.

Lawmakers react: “Instead of firing employees who want justice, maybe Jeff Bezos–the richest man in the world–can focus on providing his workers with paid sick leave, a safe workplace, and a livable planet,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted Tuesday.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said the company “should be ashamed.”

“Its efforts to vilify, demean, and even fire its own workers who are fighting for their right to better wages, working conditions and benefits are an affront to the people who make this country work – particularly at a time when Amazon warehouse, grocery and delivery workers are on the frontlines of a pandemic and forced to put themselves in harm’s way,” he said in a statement to The Hill.