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Amazon application class action overview:
- Who: Current and former employees of Amazon are suing the tech giant.
- Why: The plaintiffs say the company illegally required them to provide a family medical history in order to make its hiring decisions.
- Where: The Amazon application class action was filed in an Illinois county court.
Applicants to jobs at Amazon in Illinois have hit the tech giant with a class action lawsuit alleging it illegally required them to provide a family medical history in order to make its hiring decisions.
Plaintiffs Heaven Thompson, Christina Post, and Morgan Benoit filed the class action lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc., Amazon.com Services LLC, and Amazon Services LLC on March 3 in an Illinois county court, alleging violations of the Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA).
The state law prevents employers from making employment decisions based on requested genetic information, including hiring, firing, demoting or determining work assignments or classifications of applicants and employees, the plaintiffs say.
According to the lawsuit, when the plaintiffs applied for various jobs at Amazon, they were required to take a pre-employment physical examination, during which Amazon “indirectly or directly solicited, requested or required” them to disclose their family medical history.
The plaintiffs allege Amazon then used their family medical history to gauge whether the risk of inheriting family members’ genetic conditions could affect their hiring or what jobs they could do at the company’s fulfillment centers.
Amazon weeded out applicants who could be a liability, lawsuit states
Amazon sought to avoid the risk or liability it could face if an inherited condition was exacerbated by workplace conditions, the lawsuit states.
“Defendants chose to repeatedly disregard Illinois’ genetic privacy laws by asking their employees to provide genetic information in the form of family medical history to assist the companies in making employment decisions,” it says.
The plaintiffs seek to represent anyone who was employed by Amazon or applied for a job at Amazon in Illinois within the last five years and who was asked by the company or its agent for genetic information, such as a family medical history, as part of their job or the hiring process.
The plaintiffs seek certification of the class action, damages under the GIPA of $2,500 for every negligent violation and $15,000 for every willful violation, fees, costs and a jury trial.
Recently, Amazon Web Services (AWS) was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it unlawfully collected, used and stored the biometric information of individuals who took part in COVID-19 screenings that involved a face scan done with a Turing Shield device at their places of work.
What do you think of the allegations against Amazon? Let us know in the comments!
The plaintiffs are represented by Edward Wallace, Mark Miller and Molly Wells of Wallace Miller and Elizabeth Brehm and Kyle McLean of Siri & Glimstad LLP.
The Amazon class action lawsuit is Heaven Thompson et al. v. Amazon.com Inc. et al., Case No. 2023CH02162, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.
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6 thoughts onAmazon class action claims company asked employees for medical histories on applications
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I didn’t like how amazon tried me when i worked for them not to long ago.
I took a drug and physical test for Amazon thru Concentra medical clinics in Bridgeview, Illinois. Amazon paid for it. The application at the clinic asked if my parents have or had diabetes, high blood pressure, etc… Add me please
I always receive text messages and emails from them I don’t even open it be too many
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