Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Amazon Defends Decision To Fire 3 Warehouse Workers, Reprimand Others Amid Accusations Of Retaliation
The Wall Street Journal: Fired Amazon Warehouse Workers Accuse Company Of Retaliation, Which It Denies
Amazon.com Inc. has fired at least three warehouse employees and reprimanded several others who say they were singled out after pushing for better working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, a contention the company denies. The current and former employees, who don’t belong to a union, say they are being retaliated against as they pushed the company for better treatment after helping to process an extraordinary surge in orders during a time of elevated worker absences. (Herrera, 4/14)
The Hill: First Amazon Warehouse Worker Dies Of Coronavirus
An Amazon warehouse worker in California has died of the novel coronavirus, a spokeswoman for the online retail giant told The Hill on Tuesday. The worker, an operations manager at Amazon's Hawthorne facility, died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, on March 31. (Rodrigo, 4/14)
In other news on workers —
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: OSHA Won't Crack Down On Businesses That Don't Meet COVID-19 Guidance
As more of the nation’s essential workers become ill with coronavirus, the federal agency responsible for employee safety is telling many of them that it won't crack down on businesses that fail to follow COVID-19 guidelines. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s position has left some workers, unions and advocates scrambling to figure out how to protect employees. Workers say employers aren’t cleaning worksites properly, providing protective equipment or telling them when coworkers became sick with the coronavirus, interviews and records obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel show. (Perez, 4/15)
The Wall Street Journal: Inside The Push To Redeploy Workers Quickly
As the pandemic began knocking out swaths of the economy last month, CVS Health Corp. ’s chief recruiter, Jeff Lackey, conferred with his contacts at companies that would suffer some of the biggest blows—airlines, hotel companies and retailers. His message: I want your people. CVS—where Mr. Lackey heads up talent acquisition—is now taking on the most ambitious hiring drive in its history. (Weber, 4/15)
