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Amazon just halved paid COVID leave for U.S. workers

The decision follows the CDC shortening isolation periods for asymptomatic people.

An Amazon warehouse worker

Amazon cut its paid COVID-19 leave for U.S. workers in half.

Photo: Amazon

Amazon cut its paid COVID-19 leave for U.S. workers in half following the CDC shortening isolation time for asymptomatic people who test positive for the virus.

Amazon will now offer one week, or up to 40 hours, of paid leave for those who test positive to quarantine, rather than the two weeks the company previously offered. The decision comes from Amazon “reviewing the newly released guidance" from the CDC, which cut recommended isolation from 10 days to 5 on Dec. 27, a company spokesperson told CNBC.

Amazon follows in the footsteps of grocery giant Walmart, which announced plans to cut its COVID sick leave from two weeks to one week on Wednesday. Amazon and Walmart are the two largest employers in the U.S., employing roughly a combined 2.5 million people.

Amazon reinstated its employee mask mandate in December due to the spread of the omicron variant, after lifting it just one month earlier. The company has yet to mandate that its employees get vaccinated.

Nat Rubio-Licht

Nat Rubio-Licht is a Los Angeles-based news writer at Protocol. They graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in newspaper and online journalism in May 2020. Prior to joining the team, they worked at the Los Angeles Business Journal as a technology and aerospace reporter.

amazoncdccovid-19quarantineisolationsick leave
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