Amazon Accused of Systematically Denying Pregnant Workers Reasonable Accommodations

Four former Amazon warehouse employees have filed a proposed nationwide class action accusing the company of denying pregnant workers reasonable accommodations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The law, which took effect in 2023, requires covered employers to provide such accommodations unless doing so would impose an undue hardship.

The plaintiffs claim that Amazon denied them chairs, bathroom breaks, water breaks, and time to attend prenatal appointments. They also allege that the company demanded medical documentation it was not entitled to ask for and threatened or dismissed pregnant employees over excessive absences.

One of the named plaintiffs, Willamina Barclay, was admitted to hospital with a pregnancy-related emergency on June 16, 2025, and was dismissed five days later. Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel stated that the company provides such accommodations to 'tens of thousands' of employees annually, with an approval rate of over 99.9% in the last year.

However, the plaintiffs argue that this figure is misleading, as it only accounts for formal requests submitted and processed, not workers who never filed because they were told not to bother or whose requests were approved on paper but not honoured in practice.