Palmer, et al. v. Amazon

Brief Filed
The RLC’s amicus brief supplements the party employer’s brief by elaborating on the importance of federal OSHA preemption, which the party was only able to address briefly in its filing given the significant number of issues that it covered. Plaintiffs in the case challenged the sufficiency of the employer’s workplace safety policies to prevent COVID-19. The district court relied on the primary jurisdiction doctrine to rule for the defendant on all of the defenses raised (except federal OSHA preemption). Plaintiffs appealed. The RLC used the opportunity to encourage the Second Circuit to not only affirm the lower court’s decision but to recognize the importance of federal preemption as well. The brief was drafted by Mark Knueve, Benjamin Shepler, and Daniel Shuey of Vorys Sater, which is an RLC Law Firm Member.