Amazon must comply with US agency's pregnancy bias probe, judge rules

A New York federal judge has ordered Amazon to comply with a subpoena from a U.S. civil rights agency investigating claims that the online retailer discriminated against pregnant warehouse workers.

U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield in Manhattan late Thursday rejected Amazon’s claims that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) subpoena was too broad and sought irrelevant information.

The EEOC is seeking data on requests that pregnant workers at five U.S. warehouses made for accommodations such as limits on heavy lifting and additional breaks, and whether Amazon granted or denied them.

The commission’s probe was prompted by complaints from five women who say they faced pregnancy discrimination while working at Amazon warehouses in New Jersey, Connecticut, North Carolina, and California.