Amazon.com Inc. has been called “disgraceful” in its decision Monday to fire an employee who led a strike at the Staten Island, New York, fulfillment center.

There has been at least one COVID-19 infection at the facility, although workers took to the streets saying there could be at least 10 others and the company needed to close the facility for two weeks. Workers said that Amazon wasn’t taking the situation seriously and they were being put at risk.

So far, there have been 19 cases of COVID-19 at Amazon facilities in the U.S. Some of those buildings were temporarily closed after being ordered to do so by the government, or employees just walked out in protest.

Chris Smalls, a management assistant at the Staten Island facility, said that he had been fired for leading the strike, after he and about 60 other employees — Amazon disputes the number — said they wouldn’t return. Smalls said forcing Amazon’s hand to close the building was the only solution.

#BREAKING: Over 100 Amazon employees at JFK8 warehouse walk off the job over @amazon’s dangerous response to protect workers from COVID19 in Staten Island.

📦#AmazonStrike #WhatWeNeed pic.twitter.com/z0mrUWmPfw

— Make the Road NY 🦋 (@MaketheRoadNY) March 30, 2020

“Amazon would rather fire workers than face up to its total failure to do what it should to keep us, our families, and our communities safe,” Smalls said in a statement. “I am outraged and disappointed, but I’m not shocked. As usual, Amazon would rather sweep a problem under the rug than act to keep workers and working communities safe.”

Amazon later confirmed that Smalls had been fired, but said it wasn’t because he led the protest. The company said he had been dismissed for not adhering to social distancing guidelines and not going into quarantine after contact with the person who had tested positive for the virus.

New York Attorney General Letitia James was quick to react to Amazon’s decision to fire the worker, saying the company’s actions were “disgraceful” as well as “immoral and inhumane.”

“At the height of a global pandemic, Chris Smalls and his colleagues publicly protested the lack of precautions that Amazon was taking to protect them from COVID-19,” said James. “Today, Chris Smalls was fired. In New York, the right to organize is codified into law, and any retaliatory action by management related thereto is strictly prohibited.”

James added that the Office of the Attorney General is now considering legal options, and she has asked the National Labor Relations Board to investigate the case.

Today, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he has asked the Commission on Human Rights to investigate Amazon and if Smalls’ dismissal was unlawful.

Photo: MaketheRoadNY/Twitter