Amazon was sued Tuesday by four former warehouse workers who say the company denied them basic pregnancy accommodations — including chairs, bathroom breaks, lighter lifting and time for medical care — and then penalized or fired them when pregnancy made it impossible to keep working under normal warehouse rules.
Willamina Barclay, 38, who worked at Amazon’s Rochester, New York warehouse, said she had repeatedly asked for a seated position, extra breaks and restrictions on lifting and climbing ladders after her doctor classified her pregnancy as high-risk. (Barclay had recently suffered a miscarriage while employed by Amazon.)
According to the lawsuit, Amazon approved only some of her requested restrictions.
Breaking: Our new class action lawsuit against Amazon highlights abusive treatment of pregnant warehouse workers nationwide. Our clients are seeking justice and policy changes at the corporate giant. Read more from @USAToday @maddiemitch_: https://t.co/5d4ZBqJouD
— A Better Balance (@ABetterBalance) September 8, 2026
In June 2025, Barclay said she developed severe abdominal pain while lifting heavy objects during a shift and left the warehouse in a wheelchair before going to a hospital. The lawsuit says Amazon sent her a termination warning the next day for using too much unpaid time off. Four days later, Amazon fired her.
“I really don’t want pregnant women to experience the things that I’ve experienced at Amazon,” Barclay told USA Today. “I don’t want them to feel like they’re disposable.”
Another plaintiff, Jennifer Hatch, worked at an Amazon warehouse in Lancaster, New York. Hatch said she requested opportunities to sit after becoming pregnant and was required to provide documentation supporting the request.
Hatch told USA Today that a manager later ordered her out of a chair she had found near her workstation and required her to finish the shift standing, leaving her lightheaded and in severe abdominal pain. Weeks later, she arrived for work and discovered her employee badge no longer worked.
The proposed class action, filed in federal court in Brooklyn, alleges that Amazon has a broad practice of demanding medical paperwork for pregnancy accommodations and deducting time from workers’ time-off balances when they take pregnancy-related breaks or absences. Reuters reported that the plaintiffs are seeking lost wages and benefits, punitive damages and changes to Amazon’s practices.
Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel denied the allegations and said Amazon approved more than 99.9% of pregnancy-related accommodation requests during the past year.
[NOTE: The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related limitations — potentially including Hatch’s use of a chair — unless doing so would impose an undue hardship. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance says accommodations can include additional bathroom breaks, sitting instead of standing and limiting heavy lifting.]
The lawsuit comes after the EEOC in February found reasonable cause to believe Amazon had “systemically violated” the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin also sued Amazon last year, alleging that the company routinely denied or delayed accommodations for pregnant and disabled warehouse employees.