The Atlantic

Amazon Is Struggling to Pay Workers in Quarantine

Big retailers have rolled out sick leave during the pandemic, but some workers describe a confusing process for getting paid.
Source: Ina Fassbender / AFP / Getty

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Loress Burke, a worker at an Amazon warehouse in New York, was coughing throughout our interview when we spoke recently. She tried to get tested for COVID-19, but her doctors instead told her to stay home for two weeks. In line with Amazon’s , the company said it would pay her for the length of her quarantine. But there is a catch: She was told she won’t be paid until after she returns to work. That’s a problem, she said, because she cares for her disabled sister and needs the money now. “I got the idea that they weren’t sure how this is working, because this is as new to them as it is to us,” Burke told

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