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The
petition, filed with the Sacramento County Superior Court,
accused Amazon of failing to adequately follow the state's
information requests as part of an investigation into the
company's coronavirus protocols and status of COVID-19 cases at
its California facilities.
"Amazon has delayed responding adequately to our investigative
requests long enough," Becerra, President-elect Joe Biden's pick
to serve as U.S. secretary of health and human services, said in
the petition.
The subpoenas seek information about Amazon's sick-leave
policies, sanitation measures and data about the spread of the
virus at the company's California warehouses, the petition said.
Jodi Seth, an Amazon spokeswoman, said in a statement the
company has been cooperating with Becerra's office for months.
"We're puzzled by the attorney general's sudden rush to court.
... Their claims of noncompliance with their demands don't line
up with the facts," Seth said.
Seth said the company has invested heavily in on-site testing
for employees and personal protective equipment during the
pandemic.
The attorney general's investigation into Amazon dates to the
spring of this year, when news about working conditions at
Amazon's in-state facilities raised concern, according to the
petition.
The Guardian reported in May that Amazon had denied some
requests for paid sick leave that worker activists alleged
violated a California law giving two weeks' time to staff at
facilities where food is stored, like Amazon's. The pro-worker
group IE Amazonians Unite said it contacted state officials on
the matter and that ultimately Amazon notified personnel about
the paid leave opportunity.
Amazon has said it complied with state law. More than 19,000 of
its U.S. staff have contracted COVID-19, Amazon said in October.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Nandita Bose and Jeffrey Dastin;
Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Richard Chang and Will Dunham)
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