Amazon to pay $500,000 fine for 'concealing' COVID-19 cases from warehouse workers

The retail giant Amazon just will have to pay up after being sued by the state of California for "concealing" COVID-19 cases from its workers.

Axios reported Monday evening that California's new "right to know" law only will require the company to pay a $500,000 penalty. The law is supposed to help create better worker safety by demanding that employers inform their staffs and local health departments about the number of COVID-positive cases among their workers.

Amazon "failed to adequately notify warehouse workers and local health agencies of COVID-19 case numbers, often leaving them in the dark and unable to effectively track the spread of the virus," state Attorney General Rob Bonta's office said in a statement.

"Californians have a right to know about potential exposures to the coronavirus to protect themselves, their families, and their communities," Bonta's statement continued. "This judgment sends a clear message that businesses must comply with this important law. It helps protect us all."

Amazon's statement said that it is just happy that the suit is over. The company downplayed the ruling, saying that it was just a technical lawsuit and that their company is safe for employees.

"We've worked hard from the beginning of the pandemic to keep our employees safe and deliver for our customers — incurring more than $15 billion in costs to date — and we'll keep doing that in months and years ahead," said Amazon.

While the company may have "worked hard," this isn't the first problem they've had. Amazon was fined $1,870 last year for safety conditions, Axios recalled, citing the Los Angeles Times. The former attorney general also began an investigation into whether Amazon was doing enough last year during the pandemic. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued in February after complaints that Amazon wasn't following workplace safety rules.

Read the full report from Axios.