Mona Darby, who works at a poultry plant, helps to organize union support at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., on Dec. 13, 2020. Darby says the union at her workplace provided her with protections and job security. (Bob Miller/The New York Times)

A federal judge on Friday ruled against Amazon.com Inc as the company defends against New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit claiming it prioritized profit over worker safety during the COVID-19 pandemic at two New York City warehouses.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan granted James' request to return her lawsuit to a New York state court, and rejected Amazon's bid to move it to Brooklyn federal court, where the online retailer had sued James to stop her from suing.

James accused Amazon of ignoring its duty to take reasonable steps to protect workers from the coronavirus at a Staten Island fulfillment center and a Queens distribution center, and retaliating against workers who complained.

An Amazon spokeswoman declined to comment. Rakoff said he will explain the reasoning behind his two-paragraph order later.

"Amazon has forced its employees to work in unsafe conditions throughout this pandemic," James said in welcoming her lawsuit's move back to state court, "where it belongs."

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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Judge hands Amazon a setback in New York lawsuit over COVID-19 shortfalls

New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawsuit accused Amazon of ignoring its duty to take reasonable steps to protect workers from the coronavirus

Mona Darby, who works at a poultry plant, helps to organize union support at the Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., on Dec. 13, 2020. Darby says the union at her workplace provided her with protections and job security. (Bob Miller/The New York Times)

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