SEATTLE (dpa-AFX) - E-retail mogul Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) has been fined $500,000 by the state of California for keeping its employees in the dark about the number of COVID cases in the facilities in the state.
However, the company did not accept any wrongdoing on its part, claiming that it was not bound by law to inform.
California's Attorney General, Rob Bonta's office issued a statement on Monday alleging the company of malpractices that 'concealed COVID-19 case numbers from workers and to provide key information on workplace protections in line with California's 'right-to-know' law.'
Bonta said, 'As our nation continues to battle the pandemic, it is absolutely critical that businesses do their part to protect workers now - and especially during this holiday season.'
Bonta has been on the heels of the retail giant since November when he first noticed the lack of urgency in the company that did not notify the employees with the number of cases in the facilities. It did send out notifications for new cases but that was not enough for the AG.
Apart from the monetary payment, Amazon will also be required to modify its notification systems to comply with the state rules. 'Today's first-of-its-kind judgment will help ensure Amazon meets that requirement for its tens of thousands of warehouse workers across California,' Bonta added.
Barbara Grait, an Amazon spokesperson, insisted that the company was not in the wrong as the state law does not talk about the numbers. 'The California law doesn't specify we had to give numbers in those notifications,' she said. The company has agreed to include numbers in the notification from now on.
Amazon notified earlier in November that the employees who are fully vaccinated, would not have to wear face masks anymore. Previously, to push the vaccination drive, it had announced a $500,000 lottery prize for those who take the vaccines.
Grait added, 'We've worked hard from the beginning of the pandemic to keep our employees safe and deliver for our customers - incurring more than $15bn in costs to date - and we'll keep doing that in months and years ahead.'
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