Amazon is facing a proposed nationwide class-action lawsuit accusing the company of systematically discriminating against pregnant employees, including allegedly denying them basic workplace accommodations and firing some workers for taking time off.
The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York, was brought by four former Amazon warehouse employees. It alleges that the company routinely denied pregnant workers chairs, bathroom and water breaks, and time off for prenatal medical appointments.
The complaint also accuses Amazon of threatening and dismissing pregnant employees who took too much time away from work and requiring medical documents from workers seeking pregnancy-related accommodations.
The plaintiffs allege that the practices violate the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and New York labour laws.
One of the plaintiffs, Willamina Barclay, said Amazon issued her a termination warning on June 17, 2025, a day after she was taken by wheelchair from its Rochester, New York, warehouse to hospital following a pregnancy-related emergency.
According to the lawsuit, Barclay had suffered severe abdominal pain after lifting heavy objects. Amazon allegedly counted her hospitalisation towards her limit for unpaid time off and fired her five days later.
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel rejected the allegations, saying the accounts of the four plaintiffs contained inaccuracies and omitted important details.
Nantel said Amazon provides pregnancy-related accommodations to tens of thousands of employees each year and approved more than 99.9 per cent of such requests over the past year.
The lawsuit, filed by workers’ rights organisation A Better Balance, seeks lost wages and benefits, punitive damages and a court order preventing Amazon from discriminating against pregnant employees.
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The case comes as Amazon faces similar legal challenges over its treatment of pregnant and disabled warehouse workers. New Jersey sued the company in 2025, alleging widespread discrimination, while New York filed a similar lawsuit in 2022.
A New Jersey state court judge rejected Amazon’s request to dismiss that case in July, allowing the lawsuit to continue.
Amazon, based in Seattle, is the second-largest private employer in the United States after Walmart, with 1.58 million full- and part-time employees at the end of 2025.
Meanwhile, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is expected to propose changes in November to regulations governing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
About the Author
Cecilia Attah is a tech analyst with a degree from Benue State University. She covers tech news and startups at TechRegard with a focus on how technology is transforming Africa and shaping the global landscape.
