Amazon maintains it provides pregnancy-related accommodations to tens of thousands of employees annually
Amazon is facing a class action lawsuit that alleges it systematically denied pregnant employees basic workplace accommodations and fired them when they took medically necessary breaks.
The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, accuses Amazon of violating the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and New York Labour Law.
It was brought by advocacy group A Better Balance and law firm Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel on behalf of four female former workers at Amazon facilities in Rochester and Lancaster, New York.
Allegations against Amazon
The complaint alleges Amazon refused to grant pregnant workers accommodations as basic as bathroom breaks, water breaks, and the use of a chair without first demanding a doctor's note, a requirement the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has said is unlawful for such routine requests.
The EEOC classifies these as "predictable assessments," modifications so routine they must be granted without medical documentation in virtually all cases.
When the four plaintiffs took pregnancy-related breaks or missed shifts while awaiting decisions on their requests, Amazon's automated attendance systems deducted hours from their unpaid time off banks, eventually triggering termination warnings and, in each case, dismissal.
One former employee alleged she was fired after Amazon penalised her for time spent pumping breast milk in the company's own designated lactation room, logging it as impermissible "inactive" time.
Amazon's response
Amazon denied the accusations, Reuters reported.
Spokesperson Kelly Nantel told the news outlet that the company provides pregnancy-related accommodations to tens of thousands of employees annually and approved more than 99.9% of requests in the last year.
"Ensuring the health and well-being of our employees is one of our greatest responsibilities," she said.
Regulatory scrutiny on Amazon
Inimai Chettiar, president of A Better Balance, said no corporation was above the law, including Amazon.
"The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was designed to end the cruel choice many women have faced between a healthy pregnancy and a paycheck. Our clients' experiences show why this protection is so necessary," Chettiar said in a statement.
The lawsuit also points to a pattern of prior regulatory scrutiny. In February 2026, the EEOC found reasonable cause that Amazon discriminated against a nationwide class of pregnant warehouse workers by failing to accommodate their limitations. New Jersey's Attorney General filed a separate suit against Amazon in October 2025 over the same policies.
The plaintiffs are seeking reinstatement, back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and policy reforms on behalf of a proposed national class of current and former pregnant Amazon employees.
