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19 hours ago
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Amazon's Return-to-Office Mandate Sparks Disability Complaints
(Bloomberg) -- Inc.'s hard-line stance on getting disabled employees to return to the office has sparked a backlash, with workers alleging the company is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as their rights to collectively bargain. Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban Do World's Fairs Still Matter? NY Long Island Rail Service Resumes After Grand Central Fire At least two employees have filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board, federal agencies that regulate working conditions. One of the workers said they provided the EEOC with a list of 18 'similarly situated' employees to emphasize that their experience isn't isolated and to help federal regulators with a possible investigation. Disabled workers frustrated with how Amazon is handling their requests for accommodations — including exemptions to a mandate that they report to the office five days a week — are also venting their displeasure on internal chat rooms and have encouraged colleagues to answer surveys about the policies. Amazon has been deleting such posts and warning that they violate rules governing internal communications. One employee said they were terminated and another said they were told to find a different position after advocating for disabled workers on employee message boards. Both filed complaints with the EEOC and NLRB. The company's use of artificial intelligence to help it manage employee requests for disability accommodations has also stirred internal opposition and could open the company to legal challenges. Company spokesperson Zoe Hoffmann said Amazon's Disability and Leave Services team ensures employees have access to the accommodations and adjustments they need to be effective and advance their careers. The process is empathetic, and the interactions aren't automated, she said. 'Amazon respects employees' rights to organize and doesn't interfere with these rights. We don't discriminate or retaliate against employees for engaging in organizing activities,' Hoffmann said in an emailed statement. 'We're committed to supporting our employees by providing effective accommodations that meet their individual needs and the needs of the business.' Bloomberg reported in November that Amazon was making it more difficult for staff with disabilities to win approval to work from home. The company implemented a more rigorous vetting process, both for new requests to work remotely and applications to extend existing arrangements. Affected employees had to participate in a 'multilevel leader review' and some were told monthlong trials would be used to determine if accommodations met their needs. Several employees told Bloomberg then that they believed the system was designed to deny work-from-home accommodations and prompt employees with disabilities to quit, which some have done. Amazon denied the system was designed to encourage people to resign. Since then, workers have mobilized against the policy. One employee repeatedly posted an online survey seeking colleagues' reactions, defying the company's demands to stop. The survey ultimately generated feedback from more than 200 workers even though Amazon kept deleting it, and the results reflected strong opposition to Amazon's treatment of disabled workers. More than 71% of disabled Amazon employees surveyed said the company had denied or failed to meet most of their accommodation requests, while half indicated they faced 'hostile' work environments after disclosing their disabilities and requesting accommodations. One respondent said they sought permission to work from home after suffering multiple strokes that prevented them from driving. Amazon suggested moving closer to the office and taking mass transit, the person said in the survey. Another respondent said they couldn't drive for longer than 15-minute intervals due to chronic pain. Amazon's recommendation was to pull over and stretch during their commute, which the employee said was unsafe since they drive on a busy freeway. Bloomberg couldn't verify the responses to the anonymous employee survey. Amazon didn't dispute the accounts and said it considered a range of solutions to disability accommodations, including changes to an employee's commute. Hoffmann, the spokesperson, said that when appropriate, Amazon adjusts schedules, lighting and desk assignments. It also offers job coaching. If warranted, the company might provide commuting adjustments. In rare circumstances, she said, employees with disabilities are allowed to work from home full time or part time. AI Risks Using AI to parse accommodation requests, read doctors' notes and make recommendations based on keywords has also generated internal opposition. Bloomberg reviewed screenshots from an in-house coding tool showing what appeared to be prompts designed to guide AI software through the process of evaluating and pulling data from documents filled out by employees and their physicians. The bots are given context — such as the fact that injuries can occur on one or both arms — suggestions of follow-up questions and a lengthy list of potential accommodations for employees with low vision. There's also extensive guidance that may be intended to keep the software from asking unnecessary questions or generating irrelevant data. Amazon has long used automation to more efficiently manage its enormous workforce. But deploying such tools for sensitive personnel matters risks missing nuances about an employee's situation that a human might spot and take into consideration. Doing so also could lead to legal complications should employees claim the software introduced errors into the process. And the use of AI risks further alienating employees, who are already expected to engage with chatbots and automated systems, rather than colleagues, for a wide range of workplace tasks. 'It's impossible to imagine that companies will not be using AI for any number of needs, including this one,' said Chai Feldblum, a former commissioner with the EEOC. But in the event of a legal challenge, she said, Amazon would have to prove that providing an accommodation to an employee placed an unreasonable burden on the company. 'I would not leave that final judgment to AI,' Feldblum said. Amazon's partly automated accommodation and internal job transfer processes are key elements of the employee complaints to the EEOC, with workers arguing that it is insufficiently interactive to provide a complete picture of a person's physical limitations and whether reasonable accommodations could help them do their jobs. 'If there's an indication that Amazon is using some rote artificial intelligence process to manage these requests, that's not interactive,' said David Hutt, legal director of the National Disability Rights Network. 'Courts are pretty skeptical of these kind of boilerplate accommodations that aren't specifically tailored around the person's disability and their job function.' Two employees said Amazon cited its 'solicitation' policy when deleting their posts from employee communication channels. The policy prohibits personnel from asking others for financial contributions, disseminating advertising materials or gathering signatures on petitions unless they have permission from the company, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg. Preventing employees from discussing the workplace could backfire if the NLRB determines that doing so interferes with their protected rights to organize and debate working conditions, said Kate Bronfenbrenner, the director of labor education research at Cornell University. 'If two or more people are in any way penalized or coerced against exercising their rights, it's a violation,' Bronfenbrenner said. 'Whether this gets enforced is another question,' she added, citing budget cuts to various federal agencies. With internal communication channels being scrutinized, Amazon employees posted a petition to calling on the company to reform its policies. The dispute could affect thousands of Amazon workers. An internal Slack channel for employees with disabilities has 13,000 members, one of the people said. Amazon said it doesn't track the total number of disabled workers since employee disclosure is voluntary. The rise of remote work during the pandemic helped boost the number of disabled people with jobs to almost 23% last year, close to a record high since the US Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the metric in 2008. Working from home can benefit people with a range of disabilities, including chronic allergies, limited mobility and anxiety disorders. Amazon employees have lodged complaints about workplace conditions in the past. The EEOC as recently as last year was investigating allegations that the company discriminated against pregnant warehouse workers in California, Connecticut, New Jersey and North Carolina by denying their accommodation requests. An agency spokesperson declined to provide an update regarding the status of the investigation. In 2021, Amazon settled a dispute with two workers at its Seattle headquarters who alleged they were fired in retaliation for their workplace activism regarding climate change and working conditions, which included inviting colleagues to a virtual event meant to connect tech employees with warehouse employees. Their allegations led to a labor board complaint accusing Amazon of unfair labor practices. American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam's Historic Industrial Boom As Companies Abandon Climate Pledges, Is There a Silver Lining? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
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a day ago
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Trump seeks to register his name for mobile phone service
(Bloomberg) — DTTM Operations LLC, the entity that manages trademarks on behalf of President Donald Trump, has applied to use his name and the term T1 for telecom services. Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban Do World's Fairs Still Matter? NY Long Island Rail Service Resumes After Grand Central Fire The requests cover mobile phones, cases, battery chargers and wireless telephone services, as well as potentially retail stores. The applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office were filed on Thursday, according to a public database. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. 'While a trademark filing doesn't guarantee a product launch, the specificity of the applications points to serious consideration,' Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney and founder of Gerben IP law firm, wrote in a blog post on Friday. The filing suggest plans could be in the works for a Trump-branded mobile phone or service to compete with Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile US Inc., Gerben wrote. 'It would mark a significant expansion for Trump's private business, which has historically focused on real estate, hospitality, and branded merchandise,' he said. American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years As Companies Abandon Climate Pledges, Is There a Silver Lining? US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam's Historic Industrial Boom ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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a day ago
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Trump Seeks to Register His Name for Mobile Phone Service
(Bloomberg) -- DTTM Operations LLC, the entity that manages trademarks on behalf of President Donald Trump, has applied to use his name and the term T1 for telecom services. Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban Do World's Fairs Still Matter? NY Long Island Rail Service Resumes After Grand Central Fire The requests cover mobile phones, cases, battery chargers and wireless telephone services, as well as potentially retail stores. The applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office were filed on Thursday, according to a public database. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. 'While a trademark filing doesn't guarantee a product launch, the specificity of the applications points to serious consideration,' Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney and founder of Gerben IP law firm, wrote in a blog post on Friday. The filing suggest plans could be in the works for a Trump-branded mobile phone or service to compete with Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile US Inc., Gerben wrote. 'It would mark a significant expansion for Trump's private business, which has historically focused on real estate, hospitality, and branded merchandise,' he said. American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years As Companies Abandon Climate Pledges, Is There a Silver Lining? US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam's Historic Industrial Boom ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
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a day ago
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Delta, United suspend flights to Tel Aviv after Iran bombing
(Bloomberg) — Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. suspended flights to Tel Aviv following Israel's bombing of Iran and the closure of Israel's airspace. Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban Do World's Fairs Still Matter? NY Long Island Rail Service Resumes After Grand Central Fire Delta has stopped flights through Aug. 31 from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, and will continue monitoring 'the evolving security environment in the area,' the Atlanta-based carrier said in a statement on Friday. Delta issued a travel waiver offering rebooking options for those holding reservations to Tel Aviv from June 12 through Aug. 31. United didn't say when flights between its hub at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and Tel Aviv might resume. It canceled one Newark outbound flight on Thursday, and another already in the air returned to the New Jersey airport. The carrier also arranged for 26 crew members on a layover in Tel Aviv to fly out on an El Al Israel Airlines flight. American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years As Companies Abandon Climate Pledges, Is There a Silver Lining? US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam's Historic Industrial Boom ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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a day ago
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US, Vietnam Move Closer to Trade Framework as Deadline Nears
(Bloomberg) -- The US and Vietnam are closing in on a framework trade agreement, despite ongoing concerns about Chinese goods being rerouted through the Southeast Asian nation to avoid tariffs, according to people familiar with the talks. Shuttered NY College Has Alumni Fighting Over Its Future Trump's Military Parade Has Washington Bracing for Tanks and Weaponry NYC Renters Brace for Price Hikes After Broker-Fee Ban Do World's Fairs Still Matter? NY Long Island Rail Service Resumes After Grand Central Fire Negotiations have progressed, with Vietnam seeking to secure tariffs in the range of 20% to 25%, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private and nothing is finalized. President Donald Trump in April imposed a 46% tariff on Vietnam, then paused elevated rates, temporarily setting a 10% duty on Hanoi and other trading partners to allow time for talks. The agreement would also reflect a series of US demands, such as stricter enforcement against the transshipment of Chinese products and the removal of non-tariff barriers, the people said. While the final details are unclear, Vietnam had earlier offered to remove all tariffs, as well as to step up trade enforcement and boost purchases of American goods. The final contours of the framework are still being fleshed out in ways needed to secure Trump's sign-off, said people familiar with the matter who asked for anonymity to speak candidly about the discussions. More meetings are expected Friday in Washington to address some technical details, they said. Vietnam's foreign affairs ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House had no immediate comment. Trump has struggled to reach trade accords by a July 9 deadline for higher tariffs to kick back in. The US has reached one framework plan — with the UK — and a tariff truce with China. Trump on Wednesday said he intended to send letters to trading partners setting unilateral tariff levels — effectively 'take it or leave it' offers — within one to two weeks. Vietnam poses a particular challenge for the Trump administration, as some in Washington consider it a strategic partner in efforts to counter China in Asia, while its exports of consumer goods become staples for American consumers. Vietnam is a critical production hub for companies such as Nike Inc., Gap Inc. and Lululemon Athletica Inc., which count on the nation's factories to manufacture goods ranging from T-shirts and jeans to basketball shoes. Brands raced to move manufacturing to Vietnam over the past decade as US-China tensions escalated, helping turn the country into one of the world's biggest production hubs. The 46% charge would have proved debilitating, threatening the historic industrial boom in one of Asia's fastest-growing economies. Vietnam's trade connections with China, however, have recently inflamed relations with Washington. During Trump's economic battle with Beijing in his first term, the manufacturing shift to Vietnam built the kind of massive trade surplus that has drawn the ire of the US president. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer nodded to the progress in talks on Thursday, telling Fox News that he 'just came from a meeting with the Vietnamese that was very helpful, and we'll see if we're able to land something with them.' Nations have presented plans to 'give us more market access, they change some of their harmful policies, and they could qualify for a type of modified tariff depending on how our president feels and how their leaders feel,' he said on Fox. For Trump, Vietnam offered the promise of a quick solution — and it's still a test case for the administration's ability to ink deals with Southeast Asian nations. Vietnam raced to launch trade talks with the US and was singled out by Trump for showing a willingness to negotiate. Still, the talks have been complicated by Trump's zeal to shrink trade deficits with China — and ongoing negotiations with Beijing that could further lower rates. Some US officials want to calibrate tariffs for Vietnam and others in Southeast Asia to ensure they're sufficiently lower than what's imposed on China to encourage production to leave the country, according to people familiar with the matter. Yet if they're too low, the rates may only exacerbate Vietnam's high trade surplus with the US and encourage further shipment of Chinese goods though the country, the people said. Trump said Wednesday the US is maintaining a total of 55% tariffs on Chinese imports after talks in London, but his aides have not said whether that number is a floor. Some of Trump's top trade officials also want to crack down on what they call transshipment — where Chinese goods are minimally finished or repackaged in other countries to avoid tariffs — yet it's unclear whether the US president sees the issue as a deal breaker. Hanoi has increased efforts to enforce country-of-origin standards in part to assuage US concerns. Trump's Trade War and the Economic Impact: Tariff Tracker White House trade adviser Peter Navarro sees Vietnam as a particularly notable offender when it comes to transshipment, having called the country 'essentially a colony of communist China' during an April interview with Fox News. Chinese products are brought into Vietnam, he said at the time, and 'they slap a made-in-Vietnam label on it, and send it here to evade the tariffs.' US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick echoed that concern earlier this month at a Senate hearing. 'They buy $90 billion from China, then they mark it up and send it to us,' Lutnick said. 'So it's just a pathway of China to us.' Yet Trump has previously signaled a clear interest at cutting deals — even if they're imperfect or not fully fleshed out. And an initial framework agreement leaves the opportunity for further concessions later. The industry's major players have pushed both the US and Vietnam to come to an agreement in recent months. A group of shoemakers including Nike, Adidas AG and Puma SE urged Trump to exempt shoes from tariffs in May. Vietnam's trade ministry also recently met with representatives from Nike, Gap, Walmart Inc. and Levi Strauss & Co. The sneaker companies, also including On Holding AG and Allbirds Inc., were at a heightened risk of disruption, since they make such a large proportion of their shoes in Vietnam, and few other countries have comparable manufacturing capacity and sophistication. About half of Nike brand shoes are made in Vietnam, according to regulatory filings. --With assistance from Ramsey Al-Rikabi and Kim Bhasin. (Adds additional context, company effects starting in second paragraph) American Mid: Hampton Inn's Good-Enough Formula for World Domination The Spying Scandal Rocking the World of HR Software New Grads Join Worst Entry-Level Job Market in Years As Companies Abandon Climate Pledges, Is There a Silver Lining? US Tariffs Threaten to Derail Vietnam's Historic Industrial Boom ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
