"Ailing Amazon workers struggle to find Covid tests themselves", 13 January 2021

...Amazon was known for offering warehouse workers onsite free testing and even developed its own Covid test kits for consumers. But the company has since shut down its warehouse testing facilities, and now...some Amazon workers say they are scrambling to find tests to determine if it’s safe to return to work.

And when they seek help from the company’s human resources system, some employees say it’s so overwhelmed that they risk losing pay or time off they have accrued...

On Jan. 7, Amazon cut back its Covid leave benefit after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shortened its recommended isolation period for asymptomatic Covid cases to five days, from 10. Workers who test positive or are exposed to the virus now qualify for up to 40 hours of paid leave, down from an initial two weeks. Workers also have a five-day excused absence period to get their test results back, meaning they won’t be disciplined for not being able to come to work.

NBC News spoke to nine Amazon employees who recently contracted Covid-19 or suspected they might be sick. At least five said that they had trouble securing sick leave because of problems with the company’s human resource systems. Nearly all of the workers said they experienced hours long wait times when they tried to reach company representatives over the phone. Five of the workers reported that Amazon incorrectly deducted their paid vacation time or unpaid time off while they were out sick.

Barbara Agrait, a spokesperson for Amazon, said the company was looking into the issues with employees losing time off. But she stressed the company was focused on vaccinations.

...“We continue to believe that the best way to protect our front-line employees and communities from Covid-19 is through vaccinations. To help, we have offered incentives and hosted more than 1,800 free on-site vaccination events at Amazon facilities across the U.S., making vaccines and boosters available to our employees and their household members.”

Amazon workers...said that they believe the company’s efforts are still falling short, and that it remains difficult to get in touch with support staff who can help when they test positive or think they might have the virus...

The Amazon workers...said it wasn’t always clear what the company requires for them to secure Covid leave. One employee needed to have Amazon-specific paperwork filled out by their doctor, while other workers reported getting leave after only submitting an at-home test result. Amazon said it accepts all FDA-approved home testing kits, as well as PCR lab tests...

In response to questions from NBC News, Amazon said it has made it clear that employees should not come into work if they’re sick. The company said it has consistently based its response to the pandemic on guidance from the CDC...

[...]