A new class action lawsuit is putting Amazon's treatment of pregnant warehouse workers under scrutiny.
Here's what to know
According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, four former warehouse employees say Amazon repeatedly denied basic pregnancy accommodations, including seating, bathroom and water breaks, and time away for prenatal appointments.
Filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, the complaint seeks lost pay and benefits, punitive damages, and an injunction intended to stop the alleged discrimination.
The complaint says Amazon's attendance and accommodation practices broke the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and New York labor law. It accuses the company of requiring medical documentation from employees seeking accommodations and of threatening or firing pregnant workers for allegedly excessive absences.
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the retailer provides pregnancy-related accommodations to tens of thousands of employees annually and approved more than 99.9% of requests. "Ensuring the health and well-being of our employees is one of our greatest responsibilities," she said. Nantel said the four plaintiffs' accounts "contain inaccuracies and omit important details."
Amazon is the second-largest private employer in the United States behind Walmart, with about 1.58 million full-time and part-time workers at the end of 2025, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
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More background
Former employee Willamina Barclay said Amazon issued her a termination warning on June 17, 2025, a day after she was wheeled out of a Rochester, New York, warehouse and hospitalized with a pregnancy-related emergency.
Barclay said she had been suffering severe abdominal pain after lifting heavy objects, but Amazon claimed the hospital visit pushed her over her unpaid time-off limit and docked her because she "worked partially that day." The complaint says she was fired five days later.
Amazon has faced worker-treatment complaints before, including some over unionization efforts. New York sued Amazon in 2022 over alleged pregnancy and disability discrimination, and New Jersey filed its own lawsuit.
What's being done?
A Better Balance, a nonprofit that advocates for workers' rights, filed the new lawsuit. By seeking class-action status, the case aims to represent not only the four named plaintiffs but potentially thousands of pregnant employees who may have faced similar treatment.
Pressure on Amazon is mounting after a New Jersey Superior Court judge rejected the company's request to dismiss that state's lawsuit on July 31, allowing the case to move forward, according to a spokesperson in the office of New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport.
At the federal level, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is expected to propose changes in November to regulations tied to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, particularly after EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said in 2024 that the rules for pregnant employees are too broad.
The complaint states, "Amazon is one of this country's largest employers, it is no surprise that many of its workers become pregnant. Yet Amazon violates the law at every turn."
Where can I learn more?
The lawsuit lands as people are criticizing Amazon for how it handles complaints across its business. The stories below look at other corners of the company and show how legal fights and customer frustration have piled up elsewhere, too.
• In the United Kingdom, multibillion-dollar lawsuits over alleged market manipulation deepened Amazon's legal troubles.
• Amazon also faced a class action over allegedly deceptive environmental claims tied to Amazon Basics products.
• On Amazon, Fisher-Price shoppers flagged a mysterious up-charge tied to reduced-packaging product options.
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