Amazon employees slam CEO Andy Jassy’s demand to return to office — do American workers have a right to work from home?
Amazon employees are up-in-arms over a recent note from CEO Andy Jassy alerting them to a change in policy about remote work.
In a Sept. 16 letter, Jassy said that employees would be expected to return to the office five days a week, barring extenuating circumstances or a remote work exception, beginning on Jan. 2, 2025.
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As Jassy pointed out: "Some of our teammates may have set up their personal lives in such a way that returning to the office consistently five days per week will require some adjustments," but he's made clear that this isn't optional given the type of team he'd like to create.
Unsurprisingly, however, many workers aren't pleased with the forced change. The big question, though, is what can they do about it?
Do you have options if your employer ends a remote-work policy?
Amazon, like many companies, went fully remote during COVID but shifted to a hybrid schedule in May of 2023. Under that policy change, workers were required to come into the office three days a week. At that time, 1,000 employees staged a walkout to protest and 30,000 signed a petition requesting a retraction of the new requirements to be in office.
Those employees who express their opinions through walkouts and petitions may enjoy protections under the National Labor Relations Act, which gives all workers the right to engage in "protected concerted activity" including strikes, picketing or protesting, as long as the employees are responding to a work-related issue that concerns their interests.
It's up to the NLRB to determine whether the activity is protected, though, and employers are typically allowed to bring in temporary employees when their regular staff stops working for a protest.
In some cases, this type of activity will prompt employers to reconsider their position or to work with their staff members to find a mutually agreeable solution. In Amazon's case, however, the three-day a week policy that the workers were protesting went into effect, and the CEO has now doubled down by mandating workers begin coming in five days weekly.
Since the company wasn't responsive last time, they probably won't be swayed by the anger workers are currently expressing. Many aired their grievances in an internal Slack channel seen by Business Insider, including some who expressed a desire to get fired or a plan to take their money and find work elsewhere.
Unfortunately, while those workers can express their anger and even stage further protests, ultimately they may have few choices but to come back to work, quit or, as some say is their plan, force Amazon to terminate them for failure to perform.
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Are there times when an employer can't force you back to work?
The general rule in the United States is that workers are at will employees. They can be fired for any reason or no reason at all — and failure to return to the office when required would certainly be a justification for letting them go.
There are some limited exceptions to this rule. If someone has an employment contract negotiated on their own, or as part of a union, then an employer can't violate its terms. If it says staff can work remotely, employers must allow them to do so unless they can renegotiate the deal.
Likewise, being able to work from home is sometimes considered a reasonable accommodation for a disability, although this is more likely when an employer does allow some telework and it usually won't be an option if the company can accommodate the disability in-office.
The bottom line is that Amazon workers are probably out of luck and just have to head back to the office. And the same is true for others who may be working remotely but whose companies change the rules.
If your employer says you must come into the office, you'll need to listen or look for another position with a remote-friendly business that won't force you to make that dreaded commute.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
