Covid-19 And Amazon: Employers Must Involve Staff Representatives In The Assessment Of The Risks And The Preparation Of The Resulting Health Related Measures

• Published date: 10 June 2020
• Author: Ms Charlotte Desfontaines
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Coronavirus (COVID-19), Health & Safety, Employee Rights/ Labour Relations, Employment and Workforce Wellbeing, Litigation, Contracts and Force Majeure, Operational Impacts and Strategy
• Law Firm: Soulier Avocats

On April 24, 2020, the Versailles Court of Appeals handed down an insightful decision concerning the implementation of employee protection measures by employers in the current health context and lockdown imposed by the Government on March 16.

Ruling on an appeal lodged by the American giant Amazon against the order issued by the Nanterre Judicial Court on April 14, 2020, the Versailles Court of Appeals upheld the order in that it provided for a mandatory obligation to implement a comprehensive national health and safety prevention plan for employees, with prior consultation with staff representatives. This decision is in line with the need to reconcile the necessity to maintain a business activity with the preservation of employees' health.

This decision implies communicating the prevention plan to employees, who must be trained in the perfect implementation of such plan, as well as updating the so-called occupational risk assessment sheet (document unique d'évaluation des risques professionnels, i.e. a document that must record the risks related to the activities of the company) for each of Amazon's sites in France.

In the current Covid-19 health crisis, some Amazon employees have exercised their right of withdrawal. In addition, several alerts for serious and imminent danger were triggered, as employees considered that the measures taken by Amazon's management were insufficient to effectively protect their physical and psychological health.

Union Syndicale Solidaires (a trade-union) then summoned Amazon before the Nanterre Judicial Court in order to have the warehouses cease their business activity due to the gathering of more than 100 people simultaneously in a closed environment, or, as a subsidiary measure, at least reduce the activity to the sole receipt of goods, preparation and dispatch of orders for food, hygiene and medical products.

By order dated April 14, 2020, the Nanterre Judicial Court ordered Amazon to carry out, with the assistance of staff representatives, an assessment of the health risks and to implement the resulting measures. Pending the effectiveness of these measures, the business activity was to be reduced to the online marketing of products considered essential, subject to a penalty payment of 1,000,000 euros per day of non-compliance and per established infringement.

Following the appeal lodged by Amazon, the Versailles Court of Appeals upheld the order of the Nanterre Judicial Court in that it ordered Amazon, with the active...