The U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has decided Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) illegally retaliated against two of its most prominent internal critics when it fired them last year, The New York Times reported on Monday.
Last year, Amazon fired two user experience designers, Maren Costa and Emily Cunningham, for what it called repeated violations of internal policies.
The Times story also says the agency will accuse Amazon of unfair labor practices if it doesn't settle the case, according to correspondence viewed by The New York Times.
In a statement, Amazon spokeswoman Jaci Anderson tells the NYT that the e-commerce giant supports "every employee’s right to criticize their employer’s working conditions, but that does not come with blanket immunity against our internal policies, all of which are lawful" The (U.S.) labour agency told NBC News it could launch a national investigation into Amazon due to the number of claims of unfair labour practices.
Separately, Amazon published a blog last Friday to apologize for a tweeted response to Rep. Mark Pocan regarding media reports that Amazon drivers were urinating in bottles in their trucks. Amazon initially flatly denied the claims, but the apology explains the company had wrongly focused on its warehouse workers rather than the large network of drivers.
The company acknowledged that drivers often have problems finding public restrooms due to traffic or rural routes, a problem made worse during the COVID-19 store closures. But Amazon notes the problem isn't unique to the company's drivers.
AMZN shares still gained $10.25 to $3,171.93.
