Amazon Workers will be Able to Work from Home Until June

Amazon.com Inc. will let its corporate employees work from their homes until June 2021. The company will be the latest to delay reopening offices as COVID-19 cases rise in the US.

Amazon spokeswoman said in an email that the company continues to prioritize the health of its employees and follow the guidance of the local government. Employees who work in a role that can be efficiently performed from home can do so until June 30, 2021.

The Seattle-based company had earlier said workers could stay home until early 2021. Uncertainty around school reopens and abrupt closings linked to coronavirus outbreaks have made it difficult for parents of school-age children to return to work.

Several months ago, Alphabet Inc. (Google) announced that it would continue to allow employees to work from home until July 2021. Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Square Inc. are among the tech companies that have told some members of staff who can move to remote work permanently if they wish.

Amazon has spent significant funds and resources to keep those who choose to come to the office safe. The company took measures of physical distancing, intense cleaning, temperature controls, and providing face covers and hand sanitizer.

Warehouse employees, mostly Amazon workers, have continued to work at the e-commerce company’s warehouses across the United States. It raised safety concerns and labour disputes within the company.

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Amazon workers take the company to court

According to the employees at Amazon warehouse, the company dangerously reinstated output quotas despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

Employees at a warehouse in Staten Island, New York, reported the judge handling their lawsuit, that Amazon had not been honest and forthcoming. The company’s destructive and oppressive policies violated public-nuisance law and exacerbated Covid-19 hazards.

Amazon maintains worker safety is its top priority. Meanwhile, employees at several departments in different states insist their well-being takes a back seat to immediately shipping customers’ orders.

In July, Amazon presented the court a message it had sent to workers and notes in bathrooms at the Staten Island facility. The messages were telling them they wouldn’t be disciplined for failing the expectations of the company’s quotas for how many tasks they perform each hour. They also assured workers that time spent on safety measures such as washing their hands wouldn’t be counted against them. Usually, Amazon’s restricts the number of unproductive minutes allowed in the day by its Time Off Task policy.