Amazon ‘files lawsuit to block NY labour law’ in private sector

Amazon has reportedly filed a federal lawsuit to block a New York State law that gives the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) the power to oversee labour disputes in the private sector when the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) is unable to act.

Signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in September 2025, Law S.8034A gives PERB the authority to certify unions, rule on unfair labour practices and enforce collective bargaining rights, stepping into the role traditionally reserved for the NLRB under federal law.

Amazon argues that the law is unconstitutional and violates the National Labour Relations Act (NLRA) and decades of Supreme Court jurisprudence, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The tech giant added that it fears the new law could create conflicting jurisdiction between state and federal agencies.

The news agency said that the company cited the case of Brima Sylla, a union leader fired from Amazon’s JFK9 warehouse in Staten Island under PERB scrutiny, though the NLBR had begun its own review.

According to Reuters, Amazon said that the state law “flips US labour law on its head” by presuming PERB jurisdiction over every private-sector employer until the NLRB gets a court to hold otherwise.

“New York has created the collision of state and federal authority Congress sought to avoid,” it added.

Amazon, which had 1.56 million full- and part-time employees at year end, has stated that it intends to block the law entirely, citing federal pre-emption under the NLRA.

Federal pre-emption is a legal doctrine based on the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution, according to which federal law prevails over state law in the event of a conflict. By virtue of federal pre-emption, if a federal law regulates a specific matter, states may be prohibited from enacting or enforcing laws that interfere with or contradict that federal framework.

By invoking pre-emption, Amazon can argue that state law is invalid because it conflicts with federal law, a move that becomes particularly relevant if the state law imposes new obligations or restrictions on employers that go beyond what is permitted or prohibited by the NLRA.

Last month, acting NLRB general counsel William Cowen said federal law would likely prevail over measures several states were considering due to the agency’s lack of quorum and backlog of cases, Reuters reported.

On 12 September, the NLRB also sued New York in federal court in Albany to block enforcement of the state law. .