Oh, Amazon. The multinational technology company has often been cast under the spotlight for a multitude of troubling stories, ranging from the poor treatment of workers and horrifying working conditions to its latest MMORPG killing off NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series cards. The most recent pot of hot water it has landed itself in, though? Comprising the health and safety of workers over COVID-19 cases.
According to a report by the LA Times, the company was fined US$500000 (~RM2.08 million) for purposely hiding the number of COVID-19 cases from employees at its California-based offices. The fine comes after a complaint filed against Amazon accused the company of not properly notifying warehouse workers and local health agencies about new cases. Often leaving them in the dark about it and as a result, being unable to effectively track down the infected individuals amongst their ranks.
Amazon has promised with the payment of the fine that it would improve the way it tracks cases, as well as inform workers in its California warehouses of new COVID-19 cases within one day and disclose the exact number of cases.
Given Amazon’s history with its own labour force, it’s not a stretch to say that many aren’t holding out hope that the company will actually make good on its promises, especially given the way it has treated its workers throughout the ongoing pandemic. Earlier in the year, workers at both its Michigan and New York warehouses also suffered from an identical situation, with the latter group staging walkouts.
There’s also the topic of the US$500000 fine that the Californian court slapped on Amazon; while it may seem like a handsome sum, it’s important to remember that such an amount is more akin to chump change to the company’s burgeoning
