"No One Heard Me at Amazon"

"“About three years ago, Key'asia Hollis's boyfriend, now her fiancé, helped her get a job as a boxer at Amazon, which paid $23 an hour. The new job enabled her to move out of the motel where she'd been living with her sister and her sister's family. Hollis worked 12-hour overnight shifts packing and moving heavy boxes filled with the sundry items that Amazon customers regularly order.”"

"“On a shift one night, she strained to lift a heavy box and started bleeding. She went to the emergency room, where medical providers advised her not to lift heavy objects for 10 days to protect her pregnancy. When she returned to work with a doctor's note to that effect, she was fired. The termination meant that she couldn't reapply to work at Amazon for three months.”"

"“With no income to provide for a baby's needs, she decided to get an abortion. "I didn't have that baby because finances weren't permitting," she said. When the three-month period ended, Hollis got another job at a smaller Amazon warehouse.”"

"“Unbeknownst to her, in the time between her two stints at Amazon, a new law, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, went into effect. The PWFA should have protected her on the job. But that's not what happened. When Hollis informed Amazon about her pregnancy, she was told to get her doctor to fill out paperwork so she could get on-the-job accommodations, but her doctor told her that, because it was so early in the pregnancy, she could continue to work normally.”"

A boxer job at Amazon paid $23 an hour and allowed Key'asia Hollis to leave a motel and move into more stable housing. She worked overnight shifts packing and moving heavy boxes. After straining while lifting a box, she began bleeding and went to an emergency room, where providers advised avoiding heavy lifting for 10 days to protect her pregnancy. She returned with a doctor’s note but was fired, which prevented reapplying for three months. During that time she lived with multiple family members and chose an abortion due to lack of finances. After returning to work at a smaller Amazon warehouse, she became pregnant again and sought accommodations by informing the company early. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act had taken effect, but she still encountered problems obtaining protection and accommodations.

Read at The Nation