On Thursday, several U.S. senators questioned Amazon’s firing of four whistleblowers who raised safety concerns over the spreading of coronavirus in warehouses.
In a letter sent to Jeff Bezos, CEO of the e-commerce giant, nine senators asked Amazon to clear up how their actions do not constitute whistleblower retaliation.
“In order to understand how the termination of employees that raised concerns about health and safety conditions did not constitute retaliation for whistle-blowing, we are requesting information about Amazon’s policies regarding grounds for employee discipline and termination,” the letter stated.
More than 100 Amazon warehouses have reported cases of coronavirus, and several workers have died, according to the New York Times.
The main law concerning whistleblowers who report violations of worker safety is the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). The whistleblower provisions of OSHA have been highly criticized and described as “dysfunctional.”
Additional Information:
- Senators Want to Know if Amazon Retaliated Against Whistle-Blowers
- Your Rights to Report Workplace Safety Issues or Refuse to Work in Unsafe Conditions Caused by COVID-19 (FAQs)
Photo by Tony Webster