ACCESSIBILITY
Amazon’s return-to-office mandate sparks disability complaints
Amazon.com Inc.’s hard-line stance on getting disabled employees to return to the office has sparked a backlash, with workers alleging the company is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as their rights to collectively bargain. At least two employees have filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board, federal agencies that regulate working conditions. One of the workers said they provided the EEOC with a list of 18 “similarly situated’’ employees to emphasize that their experience isn’t isolated and to help federal regulators with a possible investigation. Disabled workers frustrated with how Amazon is handling their requests for accommodations — including exemptions to a mandate that they report to the office five days a week — are also venting their displeasure on internal chat rooms and have encouraged colleagues to answer surveys about the policies. Amazon has been deleting such posts and warning that they violate rules governing internal communications. One employee said they were terminated and another said they were told to find a different position after advocating for disabled workers on employee message boards. Both filed complaints with the EEOC and NLRB. The company’s use of artificial intelligence to help it manage employee requests for disability accommodations has also stirred internal opposition and could open the company to legal challenges. Company spokesperson Zoe Hoffmann said Amazon’s Disability and Leave Services team ensures employees have access to the accommodations and adjustments they need to be effective and advance their careers. The process is empathetic, and the interactions aren’t automated, she said. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
GOVERNMENT
Ex-congressman Billy Long confirmed as commissioner of the IRS, an agency he once sought to abolish
Former US representative Billy Long of Missouri was confirmed on Thursday to lead the Internal Revenue Service, giving the beleaguered agency he once sought to abolish a permanent commissioner after months of acting leaders and massive staffing cuts that have threatened to derail next year’s tax filing season. The Senate confirmed Long on a 53-44 vote despite Democrats’ concerns about the Republican’s past work for a firm that pitched a fraud-ridden coronavirus pandemic-era tax break and about campaign contributions he received after President Trump nominated him to serve as IRS commissioner. While in Congress, where he served from 2011 to 2023, Long sponsored legislation to get rid of the IRS, the agency he is now tasked with leading. A former auctioneer, Long has no background in tax administration. Long will take over an IRS undergoing massive change, including layoffs and voluntary retirements of tens of thousands of workers and accusations that then-Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency mishandled sensitive taxpayer data. Unions and advocacy organizations have sued to block DOGE’s access to the information. The IRS was one of the highest-profile agencies still without a Senate-confirmed leader. Before Long’s confirmation, the IRS shuffled through four acting leaders, including one who resigned over a deal between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security to share immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and another whose appointment led to a fight between Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
RETAIL
GameStop’s future is in trading cards, CEO says
GameStop Corp., the largest standalone video game retailer in the United States, will focus on growing its trading card business, chief executive Ryan Cohen said at the company’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday. The business of Pokémon and sports trading cards “is in line with our heritage,’’ Cohen said. “It fits our trade-in model, it appeals to our core customer base and it’s deeply embedded in physical retail.’’ GameStop workers regularly encounter lines of customers waiting outside for Pokémon card launches. Fans of the nearly 30-year-old card game trade and battle the cards against each other. At GameStop, collectors can sell rare cards for cash based on their quality. As of May, customers have brought 1 million trading cards in to a GameStop to be evaluated under the Professional Sports Authenticator system, which grades the cards. More than 1,360 GameStop stores offer that service, according to a company spokesperson. In June, GameStop will add 280 more. The most submitted cards are Pokémon. As consumers increasingly turn to digital stores to purchase video games, GameStop has grown its collectibles business. Collectibles made up 29 percent of revenue in the first-quarter. That business increased 55 percent, while sales of hardware and software fell, according to results released on Tuesday. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Mattel taps OpenAI to help it design toys, other products
Polly Pocket may one day be your digital assistant. Mattel Inc., the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, has signed a deal with OpenAI to use its artificial intelligence tools to design and in some cases power toys and other products based on its brands. The collaboration is at an early stage, and its first release won’t be announced until later this year, Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s chief operating officer, and Josh Silverman, Mattel’s chief franchise officer, said in a joint interview. The technology could ultimately result in the creation of digital assistants based on Mattel characters, or be used to make toys and games like the Magic 8 Ball or Uno even more interactive. “We plan to announce something towards the tail end of this year, and it’s really across the spectrum of physical products and some experiences,’’ Silverman said, declining to comment further on the first product. “Leveraging this incredible technology is going to allow us to really reimagine the future of play.’’ — BLOOMBERG NEWS
LABOR
number filing jobless claims remains at highest level in 8 months
US filings for jobless benefits were unchanged last week, remaining at the higher end of recent ranges as uncertainty over the impact of trade wars lingers. New applications for jobless benefits numbered 248,000 for the week ending June 7, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts had forecast 244,000 new applications. A week ago, there were 248,000 jobless claim applications, which was the most since early October and a sign that layoffs could be trending higher. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of US layoffs and have mostly bounced around a historically healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 since COVID-19 throttled the economy five years ago, wiping out millions of jobs. However, in the past three weeks layoffs have been at the higher end of that range, raising some concern from analysts. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
LEGAL
Tesla sues ex-Optimus engineer alleging theft of robotic trade secrets
Tesla Inc. sued a former engineer with the company’s highly secretive Optimus program, accusing him of stealing confidential information about the humanoid robot and setting up a rival startup in Silicon Valley. Zhongjie “Jay’’ Li worked at Tesla between August 2022 and September 2024, according to a complaint filed in a San Francisco Federal Court late Wednesday. Li worked on “advanced robotic hand sensors — and was entrusted with some of the most sensitive technical data in the program,’’ Tesla’s lawyers said in the complaint. The suit, also filed against his company Proception Inc, alleges that in the weeks before his departure, Li downloaded Optimus-related files onto two personal smartphones and then formed his own firm. “Less than a week after he left Tesla, Proception was incorporated,’’ according to the complaint. “And within just five months, Proception publicly claimed to have ‘successfully built’ advanced humanoid robotic hands — hands that bear a striking resemblance to the designs Li worked on at Tesla.’’ Li, who lists himself as founder and CEO of Proception on LinkedIn, didn’t respond to requests for comment sent outside of normal working hours on the platform. The company didn’t immediately respond to an emailed message seeking comment or message sent through its website. Proception is based in Palo Alto, Calif. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
