Amazon Accused of Systematically Denying Pregnant Warehouse Workers Chairs and Breaks
Amazon is facing a proposed nationwide class action, alleging routine denial of accommodations for pregnant workers and subsequent discipline for resulting absences. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn and reported by Reuters, is brought by four former Amazon warehouse employees in partnership with workers’ rights non-profit A Better Balance.
The complaint alleges violations of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and New York labor law. While the text does not specify the size of the proposed class, it refers to thousands of pregnant employees.
The accommodations in question include:
- Denial of chairs
- Refusal of bathroom and water breaks
- Demanding unnecessary medical documentation
- Threatening and dismissing pregnant employees for excessive absences.
One of the plaintiffs, Willamina Barclay, was dismissed after a pregnancy-related emergency in June 2025.
Amazon, however, maintains that it provides pregnancy-related accommodations to "tens of thousands of employees annually, and approved more than 99.9% of requests in the last year." They argue that the plaintiffs’ descriptions "contain inaccuracies and omit important details."
It’s important to note that none of the allegations has been tested in court, and the company has not been found liable.
The key legal shift since Amazon faced similar charges in 2019 is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (effective 2023), which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so would cause undue hardship. Unlike before, the law no longer requires proof of unequal treatment; it now centers on whether accommodations were provided at all.
With A Better Balance as co-counsel, this case could be a significant test of the new law and set expectations for warehouse and fulfillment operations across the country.