STATE OFFICIALS WANT DETAILS

A group of state attorneys general on Tuesday asked Amazon for data on coronavirus infections and deaths among the retail giant’s workforce.

The letter, led by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D), also called on Amazon and Whole Foods to produce a detailed accounting of their health and safety precautions as well as to document their compliance with local and state paid sick leave laws.

Healey and fellow state law enforcement officials cited reports earlier this year alleging retaliation against workers for calling attention to unsafe conditions. One such worker, Christian Smalls, has said he was fired from Amazon’s Staten Island, N.Y., warehouse in late March after organizing a walkout. Amazon denies Smalls’s firing was retaliatory and said he disobeyed instructions to self-quarantine.

Other signatories of the letter include representatives of the attorney general’s offices in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington state and Washington, D.C. It follows a March 25 letter from a similar coalition of states asking for Amazon and Whole Foods to improve their paid-leave policies.

“Amazon and Whole Foods must take every possible step to protect their employees and customers during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Healey said in a statement. “We again call on these companies to provide assurances that they are complying with state laws and federal guidance aimed at keeping essential workers safe during this crisis.”