Elain Brown Tech 05.02.2022 07:May AM EDT

Amazon Ends Paid Time Off COVID-19 Policy — What is the Replacement?

Amazon will now be easing its COVID-19 incentives to their workers. The company's changing COVID guidelines highlights the removal of up to seven days of paid time off for infected or under quarantine workers.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the e-commerce giant originally provided its employees with 14 days of paid time off (PTO) policy. However, since the vaccination rolled out and became more readily available, Amazon started easied up and made it one week in January this year.

The company announced that this move was based on the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) updated guidelines provided by its COVID guidelines.

Amazon's PTO Policy

Amazon employees who were diagnosed with COVID-19 or who were sent into quarantine were initially eligible for up to two weeks of paid time off from their jobs. In January, the corporation cut paid vacation time to one week, or up to 40 hours.

As vaccines have become more readily available and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have modified their recommendations, the e-commerce business is now gradually rolling back a new set of restrictions, bringing back the pre-Covid setup.

The company will also cease delivering site-wide notifications of positive cases at its facilities as a result of the new COVID-19 policies in place unless otherwise required by law. In addition, Amazon also included in the announcement that they would also cease to provide incentives for vaccine initiatives among their workers.

Previously, as reported by The Verge, Amazon employees received $40 from the company's vaccination drive, for every COVID-19 vaccine dose they received.

According to CNBC, Amazon stated in a notice, "The sustained easing of the pandemic, the ongoing availability of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, and updated guidance from public health authorities, all signal we can continue to safely adjust to our pre-COVID policies."

Amazon employees with confirmed COVID-19 infections can now make a request for paid time off in accordance with the company's "regular sick leave policy," regardless of whether they have received a vaccination.

It will also discontinue granting workers excused for paid time off while they are awaiting the results of their COVID-19 exams, citing the widespread availability of rapid COVID-19 tests as a reason.

Amazon COVID-19 Policies

Amazon's recent announcement with its lessened COVID restrictions was made last Saturday (April 30), and will be implemented for its staff immediately on May 2.

Amazon has made revisions to its policy over the course of the outbreak. Recently, in February, it removed the necessity for masks for both vaccinated and unvaccinated warehouse workers.

According to Amazon, the move was made in response to the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and new guidelines from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Following a verified diagnosis of COVID-19, Amazon employees based in the United States will be granted five days of excused, unpaid leave.

It is expected that the company will face a major backlash and numerous challenges in implementing the new set of regulations, especially from its employees. The company's employees have been making headlines for several weeks now as they have become successful in forming their first union.

The new policy changes are implemented in the midst of its workers' efforts to unionize some of its warehouse workers. Workers at the company's warehouse in New York City voted in April to form the company's first union.

The recent changes announced come contrary to Amazon employees who push for better working conditions and improved benefits at its warehouses.