Full Breakdown
Amazon Faces Nationwide Class-Action Over Pregnancy Accommodations
9/8/2026, 10:36:50 PM
Core Event
In early September 2026 a nationwide class-action lawsuit was filed against Amazon, alleging the company failed to provide workplace accommodations for pregnant employees and retaliated when workers took pregnancy-related breaks. Four women—Willamina Barclay, Jennifer Hatch, Kristina Green and an unnamed plaintiff—are named in the complaint. The filing says Amazon’s policies forced pregnant workers to continue physically demanding tasks, deducted unpaid-time-off balances for necessary breaks, and issued termination warnings after accommodation requests were denied.
Background & Context
The lawsuit invokes the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which guarantees protected breaks and reasonable accommodations. Amazon has faced multiple EEOC complaints and state investigations in New York and New Jersey. A Better Balance, a nonprofit that advocates for workers’ rights, supplied the complaint to USA TODAY and highlighted the case as part of a broader pattern of corporate practices that limit women’s participation in the workforce.
Data & Statistics
- A June 2025 survey of nearly 4,000 pregnant workers by the National Partnership for Women and Families found 49 % needed temporary workplace changes such as seated work, frequent bathroom breaks, or reduced lifting.
- Of those respondents, 35 % said their employer made only partial adjustments and 9 % reported no adjustments at all.
- In 2026, A Better Balance’s helpline received calls from roughly 200 Amazon employees reporting similar accommodation issues.
On-the-Ground Reports
Willamina Barclay, a 38-year-old single mother, was wheeled out of an Amazon warehouse in Rochester, New York, in June 2025 after repeatedly requesting seated work, extra breaks, a 15-pound lifting limit and avoidance of ladder work due to a high-risk pregnancy. After a severe abdominal pain episode, she received a termination-warning email for taking unpaid time off and was fired four days later despite providing a doctor’s note.
Jennifer Hatch, 47, began working at Amazon’s Lancaster, New York, warehouse in September 2024. After informing her manager of her pregnancy in January 2025 and requesting regular sitting opportunities, she was repeatedly asked for additional medical proof. When she attempted to sit in March 2025, a site manager forced her to stand, causing light-headedness and abdominal pain. Later that month her badge stopped working, and she learned she had been terminated after her unpaid-time-off balance was depleted by necessary breaks.
Kristina Green, 31, was hired in September 2025 while six months pregnant. She asked for a role without ladder work or lifting over 25 pounds and for extra breaks. While her manager allowed ad-hoc breaks, each break drained her unpaid-time-off bank. After unpaid medical leave for childbirth, she returned in late January 2026 but faced further disputes over lactation-room breaks, ultimately being fired in May 2026.
Official Statements & Responses
Amazon has not provided comment to USA TODAY at the time of filing. The EEOC has not released details on its planned revisions to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, though it is expected to propose changes in November 2026.
Criticism & Opposition
Megan Thomas, a New York attorney specializing in discrimination, noted that low-wage pregnant workers often encounter barriers sooner than white-collar counterparts and that “people with more money speak up more.” Family physicians Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell and Dr. Alexa Mieses Malchuk emphasized that physically demanding jobs increase risks of preeclampsia, preterm birth, and musculoskeletal injury.
What’s Next
The EEOC plans to issue proposed revisions to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in November 2026, a development that could affect Amazon’s accommodation policies if adopted. A Better Balance hopes the lawsuit will pressure Amazon to revise its internal procedures and provide clearer, non-discriminatory accommodation processes for pregnant employees.
