New York State Attorney General Letitia James has officially filed a lawsuit against Amazon over its alleged poor handling of health and safety requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, Amazon sued James to try to pre-emptively block her office from taking legal action against its coronavirus response. 

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• James' lawsuit accuses Amazon of not complying with New York's health guidelines at its Staten Island fulfillment center and a smaller distribution facility in Queens. Specifically, it claims Amazon failed to meet protocols for cleaning, disinfection, and contact tracing at the facilities, which employ more than 5,000 workers.
• It also accuses Amazon of not allowing employees to protect themselves from possible infection and unlawfully retaliating against workers who reported safety concerns.
• James has been investigating the safety measures Amazon put in place and the firing of former employee Chris Smalls at the Staten Island facility. The suit asks Amazon to change its policies to better protect worker safety, create new training and safety monitoring protocols, as well as compensate Smalls and offer to rehire him.

“Since the pandemic began, it is clear that Amazon has valued profit over people and has failed to ensure the health and safety of its workers." — New York State Attorney General Letitia James

• Last March, Smalls organized a protest amongst warehouse workers after Amazon refused to close the facility in Staten Island where an employee tested positive for COVID-19. Amazon terminated Smalls' contract, alleging he violated social-distancing guidelines and didn't quarantine after being exposed to someone who tested positive.
• In a letter to Amazon, James said the company's safety measures were "so inadequate that they may violate several provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act."
• Amazon's preemptive lawsuit claimed that James doesn't have the authority to investigate Amazon's safety protocols or the claims of retaliation from former employees as federal labor and safety laws supersede James' authority. Amazon also argues that the lawsuit doesn't paint "an accurate picture" of its pandemic response, which it claims is better than many other employers'.

Some of this information first appeared in today's Inside Business. You can read the full issue here.

A special investigation by Reuters describes how Amazon favored large sellers on its Indian platform and used them to circumvent rules intended to protect smaller sellers. The publication obtained seven years' worth of internal company documents, which paint a potentially damaging picture of Amazon's strategy to expand in India.

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• While Amazon has publicly pledged to help smaller businesses in India, the documents outline Amazon's preferential treatment toward large e-commerce merchants and aggressive maneuvers to skirt Indian regulations. A 2014 presentation, for example, advised Amazon officials to “Test the Boundaries of what is allowed by law."
• India's brick-and-mortar and smaller online sellers have long accused Amazon of only benefitting a small number of bigger sellers and engaging in predatory pricing. However, Amazon claims it's in compliance with Indian law, which prevents e-commerce platforms from selling goods directly to consumers.
• One of the documents obtained by Reuters included a draft note given to senior Amazon executive Jay Carney before he was scheduled to speak with India's U.S. ambassador in early 2019. The note advised Carney not to reveal that about a third of the value of all products sold on Amazon's platform came from ~33 sellers. This took place shortly after India announced foreign direct investment rules that threatened Amazon’s business.
• Other documents outline how two sellers on Amazon's Indian platform accounted for ~35% of total sales in early 2019; Amazon also had indirect equity stakes in those “special merchants” — Cloudtail and Appario. Roughly 35 of the 400,000+ Indian sellers on Amazon were responsible for two-thirds of its sales.
• According to Reuters, the documents "could deepen the risks facing the company as it encounters intensifying government scrutiny in one of its fastest-growing markets."
• Amazon has disputed the report, calling it "unsubstantiated, incomplete, and/or factually incorrect..." It claims that it "treats all sellers in a fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory" way.

Amazon is in talks with White House officials to help with the country's COVID-19 vaccine rollout, according to Politico. This comes a month after Amazon sent a letter to President Biden offering help with vaccine distribution. The company said it is ready to turn its sites into vaccination facilities and mentioned its "operations, information technology, and communications capabilities" to help in vaccination efforts.

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• Amazon volunteered its IT and operations resources to help coordinate and deliver vaccines to various community locations, such as churches and corner pharmacies.
• A White House spokesperson confirmed that the Biden administration is consulting with Amazon and other companies "about specific ways they can help execute the President’s national strategy against COVID." Their technical and logistics expertise could help Americans receive their vaccines "more efficiently and more equitably," he added.
• Google, Facebook, and Airbnb are among the other companies that have offered to help. Google, for example, has volunteered to convert some of its work locations into vaccination clinics. Airbnb says some of the houses in its network could serve as "vaccine depots" for distribution, particularly in areas lacking pharmacies.
• Previously, Biden has been critical of tech giants such as Amazon, saying the e-retailer doesn't pay its fair share of taxes. He has also vowed to be “the most pro-union president" at the same time Amazon is fighting a unionization effort at its Bessemer, Ala. warehouse.

California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez has introduced a bill that specifically targets Amazon's work quotas, or lack thereof. AB 701 would force warehouse employers to disclose quotas — via written descriptions of tasks "to be performed, or materials to be produced or handled" — as well as any disciplinary actions placed upon an employee for failing to meet them.

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• Gonzalez told Motherboard the bill is specifically aimed at Amazon's business model, which she said attempts to "profit off workers who continue to be pressured to fulfill orders quicker."
• More protections are needed for these workers, who are often subjected to intense workloads that can prompt injuries, she said. At Amazon, for example, the employee injury rate is nearly double the average among workers in the industry, according to a Reveal report.

"One of the reasons we structured the bill this way is that Amazon would have to put in writing what their quotas are, which sometimes they deny having." — California Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez

• Under the bill's terms, a worker would be excluded from any punishment for not meeting quotas that weren't disclosed to them. It would also require that CAL/OSHA create a standard to lower the risk of illnesses and injuries for employees working in warehouse distribution centers that use production quotas.
• Recent reports describe how Amazon workers are often required to scan hundreds of items every hour. Those who fail to keep up are often penalized or fired. The expectations appear to have worsened in recent years, especially as Amazon tries to keep up with demand during the pandemic.

Amazon acquired Australian e-commerce platform Selz, which helps small businesses launch their own online stores, similar to Shopify. The January acquisition highlights Amazon's push toward a model that would compete with Shopify, allowing small businesses to launch their own websites rather than paying fees to use its marketplace.

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• Founded in 2013, Sydney-based Selz sells a platform for small- and medium-sized businesses to launch their own online e-commerce stores, as well as other business tools.
• In a blog post, Selz CEO and founder Martin Rushe said the company will work with Amazon to develop "easy-to-use tools for entrepreneurs." Nothing will change for Selz customers at this time, he added.
• Amazon confirmed the acquisition but did not disclose the terms of the deal.
• The news comes after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos turned his sights to competitor Shopify, which has also seen its business soar during the pandemic. Bezos and other executives have considered launching a similar service under Amazon Web Services, reports noted.

Amazon launched a Kickstarter-like program that develops products if enough customers pre-order them. The first products to debut under the company's "Build It" program are a $34.99 smart nutrition scale, an $89.99 thermal sticky note printer, and a $79.99 cuckoo clock.

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• All three products are Alexa-powered and designed by internal Amazon inventors, engineers, and designers. Amazon says each will need enough pre-orders — displayed as a percentage progress bar on the product pages — within 30 days to go into production.
• Customers are only charged if the device gets built. They also receive a preorder discount, as the price would increase if the product becomes widely available.
• If successful, all three products would ship sometime this summer.
• Amazon called the concept "low risk, high reward, and a whole lot of fun." It plans to debut more products later on.

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• Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos reclaimed the title of world's richest person from Tesla CEO Elon Musk after the automaker's shares fell by 2.4% on Tuesday.
• Extreme winter weather in the southeastern U.S. forced Amazon to temporarily close an undisclosed number of warehouses and other facilities in eight states.
• IBM is among the 20 new companies to sign Amazon's Climate Pledge, a commitment to lower carbon emissions. IBM said it plans to reach “net-zero” greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2030.
• Amazon reportedly changed the timing of a traffic light outside its Bessemer, Ala. warehouse, possibly to prevent pro-union workers there from canvassing people stopped at the light.
• Standard Cognition Corp., a startup that sells automatic checkout technology similar to Amazon Go's, raised $150M from investors at a $1B valuation. Its customers include convenience store Circle K and U.K.-based food-service firm Compass Group PLC.
• Hamburg, New York's Industrial Development Agency on Tuesday signed off on ~$6M in tax breaks for a future Amazon warehouse and distribution facility in the city.
• Santee, Calif. residents have expressed concerns about a possible drop in property values and noise from a future Amazon warehouse in neighboring El Cajon.
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