Amazon Attendance Policy Punishes Disability, Lawsuit Says (1)

Amazon.com Services LLC’s attendance policy discriminates against workers who seek reasonable accommodations for their disabilities, a proposed class action filed Thursday says.

The Amazon.com Inc. subsidiary uses automated systems to discipline and even terminate employees who miss work, even when those absences fall under state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination against workers with disabilities, according to the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Plaintiff Cayla Lyster, who has the connective tissue disorder Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, started working for Amazon in 2022 and says she needed a chair and other accommodations when the company changed her job duties the following year. She followed Amazon’s rules for requesting accommodations, but the company’s “substantial delay” forced her to take “unpaid, unwanted, and unnecessary leaves of absence,” the complaint says.

“Claims that we don’t follow federal and state laws” barring disability discrimination “are simply not true,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said Thursday. “Our dedicated Accommodations team reviews each request individually to make sure employees have access to the accommodations and adjustments they need, and we continuously evaluate our approach to best address their needs,” Nantel said, disputing Lyster’s allegations about Amazon’s attendance system and accommodations process.

Amazon’s attendance policy has come under fire before, including a January lawsuit from workers penalized after taking time off for medical reasons.

Lyster—who sued on behalf of other Amazon warehouse workers with disabilities in New York—says the company deducted leave from her unpaid-time-off balance and repeatedly threatened to fire her for missed work while she waited for it to provide the accommodations she needed. Other workers “justifiably fear” they’ll face similar treatment if they seek reasonable supports to which they’re legally entitled, chilling their ability to exercise their rights, the suit says.

Lyster alleges Amazon’s actions run afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act and New York laws prohibiting bias against disabled workers and those who take protected leave. She seeks injunctive relief to block the company’s punitive attendance policy, along with damages for the alleged rights violations, a new look at any attendance-related terminations of class members, and attorneys’ fees.

A Better Balance and Vladeck, Raskin & Clark PC represent Lyster.

The case is Lyster v. Amazon.com Servs. LLC, S.D.N.Y., No. 1:25-cv-09423, complaint filed 11/12/25.