据报道，亚马逊公司位于加州萨克拉门托的员工联合起来，于9月30日向他们的主管递交请愿书，抗议公司的非工作时间政策边缘。
工人们的灵感来自一位名叫桑德拉的前同事，她说她在为婆婆守夜后被解雇了，尽管她和亚马逊的主管保持着联系。当婆婆去世，桑德拉回去工作申请丧假时，老板告诉她，在丧假开始前一个小时，她已经透支了休假余额。
“我觉得我在暮光之城桑德拉告诉《边缘》我正在处理家里的一个死亡事件，我将在一个多小时内失去工作？"
作为对桑德拉被解雇的回应，她分娩地点的同事组织了亚马逊人联合萨克拉门托，并于9月30日统一向亚马逊人力资源部门和网站经理提交请愿书，要求给予员工带薪休假，并重新雇用桑德拉。
英格兰赫梅尔赫姆普斯特德-2005年12月5日:2014年12月5日，包裹在英格兰赫梅尔赫姆普斯特德的亚马逊仓库准备发送。亚马逊萨克拉门托送货中心的员工向他们的主管递交了一份请愿书，因为一名同事在下班后站在岳母床边，超过规定的休息时间一小时而被解雇。
“虽然亚马逊是一家由世界上最富有的人运营的价值万亿美元的公司，但永久兼职员工一年中无论出于何种原因，都只能休息10天，”信中部分写道。“这意味着我们每天都在利用[的无薪休假]处理家庭紧急事件、疾病或假期，我们离终结还差一步。”
据《边缘报》(The Verge)报道，医疗保险和带薪休假是全职员工福利，大量亚马逊员工是兼职员工。员工的工作时间被限制在每周30小时以下，以避免受到《平价医疗法》的限制，从而使他们没有资格享受休假或医疗保险。
据《边缘报》报道，员工每个季度有20小时的无薪休假，相当于平均兼职员工的两到三班制。根据他们的说法，花太多的时间会导致自动开火。
亚马逊告诉《边缘报》，“如果员工需要额外的休假，公司会考虑到个人情况”，而且解雇并不是像员工声称的那样是自动的。该公司补充称，虽然兼职员工没有医疗保险，但他们可以获得牙科和眼科护理，以及医疗费用。
该公司继续说，根据当地法律，除了每个季度允许20小时无薪休假之外，兼职工人还可以获得三天带薪丧假和累积病假。
SACRAMENTO AMAZON WORKERS ARE PROTESTING AFTER WOMAN WAS ALLEGEDLY FIRED FOR SPENDING EXTRA HOUR WITH DYING MOTHER-IN-LAW
Amazon workers at the company's Sacramento, California delivery location united to present a petition to their supervisor September 30 to protest the company's off-time policy, according to The Verge.
The workers were inspired by a former colleague identified only as Sandra, who says she was fired after a bedside vigil for her mother-in-law, even though she kept in communication with her supervisor at Amazon. When her mother-in-law passed away and Sandra returned to work to request bereavement leave, she was informed by her boss that she had overdrawn her off-time balance by one hour before her bereavement leave set in.
"I felt like I was in The Twilight Zone," Sandra told The Verge. "I'm dealing with a death in my family, and I'm going to lose my job over one hour?"
In response to Sandra's firing, co-workers at her delivery location organized the Amazonians United Sacramento, and on September 30 unified to present a petition to Amazon Human Resources and the site manager demanding workers be given paid time off and Sandra be rehired.
HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 05: Parcels are prepared for dispatch at Amazon's warehouse on December 5, 2014 in Hemel Hempstead, England. Workers at Amazon's Sacramento delivery center presented their supervisor with a petition after a co-worker was fired for being an hour over their allotted hours for time off after taking time away from their job to stand at their mother-in-law's bedside.
"While Amazon is a trillion dollar company run by the richest man in the world, permanent part-time employees working 8 hour shifts are only allowed 10 days off a year for any reason," the letter reads in part. "This means that every day we use [unpaid time off] for family emergencies, sickness, or vacation, we are one step closer to termination."
According to The Verge, medical insurance and paid time off are full time employee benefits, and a large number of Amazon employees are part-time employees. Employees' hours are limited to under 30 per week to avoid falling under the strictures of the Affordable Care Act, thus making them ineligible for time off or medical insurance.
Employees are given 20 hours of unpaid time off per quarter, translatable to two or three shifts to the average part time worker, according to The Verge. According to them, taking too much paid time can result in automatic firing.
Amazon told The Verge that "the company takes into account individual circumstances should employees require additional time off," and that firings are not automatic, as the workers claim. The company added that while part-time employees are not offered medical coverage, they're offered dental and eye care, as well as funding for medical expenses.
The company continued that, in addition to being allowed 20 hours of unpaid time off per quarter, part-time workers get three days of paid bereavement leave and accrued sick leave in accordance with local laws.
