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Law360 (March 4, 2021, 5:28 PM EST ) New York Attorney General Letitia James wants her lawsuit accusing Amazon of failing to adequately protect city workers from the coronavirus sent back to state court, arguing Wednesday that the claims have no federal ties.
James told a New York federal judge that the e-commerce giant had no good reason to remove the suit, which alleges unsafe pandemic conditions at Amazon's fulfillment center on Staten Island and distribution center in Queens, just one day after it was filed in New York state court.
Amazon said in its Feb. 17 notice of removal that the dispute belongs in federal court because James is unlawfully attempting to undermine federal laws and regulations and because employees at the two centers are the real parties in interest in the case rather than the state of New York.
But James said Wednesday the action is purely based on state law and that it's clearly within her authority as attorney general to go after Amazon for allegedly ignoring sanitation and social distancing guidelines and improperly handling coronavirus diagnoses among its New York City workforce.
"The complaint asserts five causes of action against Amazon. Each arises wholly under state law," James said. "And each is premised on the attorney general's express and exclusive authority under New York Executive Law to bring an enforcement action to halt or otherwise seek relief for unlawful business activity."
The attorney general said Wednesday that well-settled precedent bars Amazon's assertion that her claims are preempted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or National Labor Relations Board's mandates. The only other federal regulations at issue — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 guidelines — are far too weak to warrant removal, she said.
James also urged the court to reject Amazon's claim that federal jurisdiction was created by a separate lawsuit the company filed in Brooklyn federal court seeking to block her attempts to regulate its activity.
She further disagreed with Amazon's reasoning that the dispute belongs in federal court because she is simply a "nominal party" suing on behalf of diverse individuals. Beyond seeking to protect the rights of individual workers, the suit aims to protect all New Yorkers from the wide-ranging health effects of Amazon's alleged practices, James argued, making the state itself a true party in the action.
"Recognizing that [the Staten Island facility] alone employs more than 5,000 workers, and that a single person with COVID-19 is likely to infect five or six other individuals absent aggressive social distancing practices, the state's complaint shows an obvious quasi-sovereign interest in ensuring that Amazon facilities with thousands of in-person workers do not become clusters that spread a virus that has already killed over 50,000 New Yorkers," James said.
James filed the lawsuit on Feb. 16 alleging that since the pandemic's onset in March 2020, Amazon has prioritized raking in profits over worker safety and failed to give employees the tools to engage in proper sanitation or social distancing practices.
More than 250 employees at the State Island facility, known as JFK8, have tested positive for COVID-19, the complaint alleges. It says the company has violated public health guidelines by failing to inform fellow workers of the diagnoses or adequately sanitize affected work areas.
James also accused Amazon of firing workers who complained about these conditions, calling this a retaliatory effort aimed at dissuading further dissent.
A group of JFK8 workers filed a separate lawsuit over allegedly shoddy pandemic protections. A New York federal judge tossed the suit, citing OSHA's jurisdiction over the issue, prompting the workers to appeal to the Second Circuit.
Representatives from the attorney general's office declined to provide additional comment Thursday. Counsel for Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
James is represented by Julie R. Ulmet, Fiona J. Kaye, Jeremy Pfetsch, Karen Cacace, Roya S. Aghanori, Daniela Nogueira and Seth Kupferberg of the Office of the New York State Attorney General.
Amazon is represented by Zainab Ahmad, Mylan L. Denerstein, Jason C. Schwartz and Lucas C. Townsend of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
The case is People of the State of New York v. Amazon.com Inc. et al., case number 1:21-cv-01417, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
--Additional reporting by Sarah Jarvis. Editing by Jay Jackson Jr.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
