Today, A Better Balance and co-counsel Vladeck, Raskin & Clark P.C. filed a class action complaint against Amazon seeking to hold the multi-billion-dollar company accountable for its treatment of thousands of hourly warehouse workers across New York State.
The case’s lead plaintiff, Cayla Lyster, is a dedicated Amazon warehouse employee in Liverpool, NY with a longtime diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Ms. Lyster is a top performer who relies on basic accommodations, such as a chair at her workstation and a job that does not involve climbing ladders, to successfully perform her job tasks. But, as the lawsuit alleges, Amazon refused to cooperate with her requests for accommodation and even punished Ms. Lyster for exercising her rights. Ms. Lyster’s story evinces a widespread pattern by which Amazon threatens to fire workers who request reasonable accommodation, which in turn deters workers from asking for accommodations in the first place.
The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, details how Amazon forced Ms. Lyster onto unpaid, unwanted, and unnecessary leaves of absence instead of accommodating her with available work, subjected her to cruel harassment for her disability, and arbitrarily rescinded her accommodations despite knowing her disability is permanent. Moreover, while Ms. Lyster was out on leave, Amazon subjected her to its punitive attendance policy, deducting from her Unpaid Time Off (“UPT”) balance and repeatedly threatening to fire her for absences Amazon forced her to take.
Ms. Lyster is not alone. The complaint goes further to describe how Amazon uses its UPT policy to coerce and intimidate its low-wage workforce across New York. The company has set up its automated systems to deduct UPT for absences that are legally protected. Amazon routinely places workers on leave pending accommodation and then drains their UPT balances while they are out. Amazon then frequently fails to refund the UPT, meaning workers risk being fired automatically with nothing more than an email. As a result, workers who need their jobs to meet immediate survival needs are discouraged en masse from requesting accommodation.
As the complaint explains, Amazon’s practices systematically violate the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that make it illegal to retaliate or interfere with workers’ rights. Ms. Lyster leads a class of the thousands of New York warehouse workers who have been denied their rights because Amazon punished them—or because they were too afraid to seek disability accommodations at all. The class seeks injunctive relief, meaning a change to Amazon’s policies and practices.
In 2024, A Better Balance worked with Ms. Lyster to file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), alleging violations of the ADA and New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). The agency found that Ms. Lyster’s legal claims had merit and that Amazon had violated her civil rights. It also found that Amazon’s UPT deductions had a “chilling effect” on Ms. Lyster’s exercise of her rights. Ms. Lyster and her counsel are now seeking to vindicate their rights in court. She alleges violations of the ADA, the NYSHRL, and New York’s Lawful Absence Law, which explicitly prohibits points-based deductions for legally protected time off.
“Our lawsuit tells Ms. Lyster’s story as well as a much bigger story about Amazon’s illegal treatment of its hourly warehouse workers,” said Inimai Chettiar, President of A Better Balance . “Amazon has devised policies that ensure that employees live under the constant threat of punishment, risking their health and safety to come to work every day instead of raising their legal rights. These workers shouldn’t ever need to choose between their safety and their paycheck. And no company—not even Amazon—is above the law.”
“My fight for accommodations at Amazon has been one of the most stressful and mentally damaging periods of my life,” said Ms. Lyster. “But I look forward to the future with hope. I will hold Amazon accountable by demanding that they make changes to their accommodation and attendance processes so that all associates with disabilities, not just me, will be respected as human beings.”
The Complaint explains that the treatment Ms. Lyster experienced highlights broader issues with Amazon’s policies and practices. Workers with disabilities who have experienced similar treatment at Amazon are encouraged to contact A Better Balance’s free and confidential legal helpline.
Media interested in interviewing Cayla Lyster and her A Better Balance attorneys and legal experts should contact Katie O’Brien, 212-430-5982 ext: 166 or kobrien@abetterbalance.org.