Amazon is going to pay US warehouse workers double time for all overtime

Amazon said on Saturday that it will increase overtime for workers in its U.S. warehouses between March 15 and May 9, Reuters reports. Instead of the standard hour and a half that they now receive for overtime, Amazon warehouse workers in the U.S. will receive double the hourly wages for each overtime in a given work week, the company said.

The announcement comes a day after four U.S. senators sent a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asking him to respond to questions about how the company is protecting its warehouse workers during the corona virus outbreak. The senators sent the letter two days after the first US-based Amazon warehouse worker tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Amazon warehouse workers have said that the rise in orders – while people hang around at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus – has caused many concerned for their health. The edge spoke to 24 warehouse workers and delivery workers, who described busy workplaces, a lack of symptom screening, a shortage of cleaning supplies, and a pace that made sanitation more difficult.