Professor James Brudney was quoted in Bloomberg on workplace conditions for Amazon workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and how guidelines from the government could provide a safer environment for essential workers.
Meanwhile in the U.S., where worker protests have popped up regularly, Amazon has so far largely avoided such restrictions. It’s true the company has taken some steps—recently pared back—to prioritize essential products such as food and medical supplies. But while it takes Amazon more than a week to deliver a box of Cheerios and more than a month to get a package of toilet paper to customers, a 9-foot patio umbrella can be had in just a few days.
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Critics say the government should take a page from the French and do more to protect workers, but so far the pushback has been limited to sporadic worker protests and a handful of letters from U.S. senators.
“Amazon is one of the largest private-sector employers functioning at the moment, so there’s no reason for government to be so hands-off,” says Jim Brudney, a law professor at Fordham University. “The federal government has not had an aggressive coordinated response and it hasn’t put essential workers at the forefront of its agenda for protection.”