Comptroller Stringer, NYC Funds and APG Urge Transparency from Amazon’s Independent Directors Regarding Employee Health and Safety Initiatives Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

(New York, NY) – Today, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, the New York City Pension Funds, and Dutch pension asset manager, APG,  sent a joint letter to the Amazon Board of Directors’ Leadership Development and Compensation Committee Chair Judith McGrath urging transparency from Amazon’s independent directors regarding employee health and safety initiatives amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter requests that Ms. McGrath, who is the Chair of the Committee responsible for overseeing employee health and safety, report on the board’s oversight of the company’s COVID-related initiatives and investments at the annual shareholder meeting on May 27, 2020.

Amazon recently disclosed its plans to spend approximately $4 billion in the second quarter 2020 on coronavirus-related expenses, “including investments in personal protective equipment, enhanced cleaning of [its] facilities, less efficient process paths that better allow for effective social distancing, higher wages for hourly teams, and hundreds of millions to develop [its] own COVID-19 testing capabilities.” However, media reports indicate that many Amazon employees remain fearful about coming to work, and concerned for their own safety as well as that of their families, their coworkers, and the customers and communities they serve.

“We are in the middle of a public health crisis, and no essential worker should have to fear for their safety or that of their family just to do their job,” said Comptroller Stringer. “Amazon’s board is responsible for providing independent oversight of the company’s investments to safeguard the health and safety of its employees and customers, and we will hold them accountable. That’s why we’re calling on the independent directors to speak up at the annual shareholder meeting – they must report on how they are overseeing the progress of COVID-19 initiatives to ensure that these investments are actually keeping employees safe.”

“Keeping people safe and healthy should be the first priority of any company and the pandemic requires business leaders to take swift, effective measures to do just that,” said Anna Pot, Head of Responsible Investments Americas for APG.  “While we welcome Amazon’s announcement to invest in protecting their sizeable front-line workforce from the spread of COVID-19, we want assurance that these investments actually lead to better outcomes for their employees – that they are safer and healthier as a result. As a long-term, responsible investor, we urge the independent directors to lead an outcome-driven and transparent approach that protects all employees.”

Comptroller Stringer, the NYC Funds, and APG raise concerns about the potential disconnect between management’s reported employee initiatives and these media reports regarding widespread COVID-19 health and safety concerns among Amazon employees, including reports that the company has retaliated against some employees and is pressuring sick employees to come to work. As of February 28, 2020, the New York City Pension Funds and APG have $4.2 billion invested in Amazon on a combined basis.

Comptroller Stringer, NYC Funds, and APG requested the following information:

1. The performance metrics that the Committee is using to oversee progress. Rather than reporting on inputs such as the number of masks provided or employees tested, we are particularly interested in understanding the outcomes of these investments, such as volume trends in reported cases of Coronavirus among employees, transmission rates, days lost due to COVID-related illness, complaints filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, impact on productivity and employee morale and workplace culture as measured by employee engagement.
2. Whether the Committee has exercised its authority to retain workplace safety and health advisors to assist it in the full performance of its functions, including, for example, independent certified industrial hygienists, occupational physicians, and public health experts.
3. Oversight of any whistleblower protections for employees reporting unsafe working conditions as well as of management enforcement of, and compliance with, the company’s policy of no retaliation against any employee for reporting misconduct.
4. Frequency of Committee meetings during the pandemic. We note the Committee has only met three times each year for the past five years.

To read the full letter from Comptroller Stringer, NYC Funds, and APG, click here.

Comptroller Stringer serves as a trustee on the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, the Teachers’ Retirement System, the New York City Police Pension Fund and the New York City Fire Department Pension Fund, and the investment advisor to and custodian of the above New York City Pension Funds and the Board of Education Retirement System. The five New York City Pension Funds had combined assets under management of $211.2 billion at February 28, 2020.

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