(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc was hit with a proposed class action on Friday claiming the company is violating a New York City law by testing applicants for jobs at local facilities for marijuana.

Michael Thomas, who says he was turned down for a job as a sorter at a Staten Island warehouse after failing a drug test last year, filed a complaint against Amazon in Brooklyn federal court. He is represented by Lipsky Lowe.

Thomas says Amazon's practice violates a May amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law (HRL) that prohibits employers from requiring job applicants to submit to drug testing for marijuana.

Seattle-based Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The city law includes an exemption for certain jobs, including those that involve operating machinery or heavy equipment. But Thomas in his complaint said the job description for the sorter position, which involves packing, sorting and scanning packages, does not include those kinds of tasks.

Several other cities and states have adopted similar laws as more than a dozen states have legalized recreational marijuana over the last few years.

Thomas in his lawsuit is seeking to certify a class of individuals who applied for jobs with Amazon in the city and were required to submit to pre-employment testing for marijuana. He is also seeking backpay and punitive damages, which are awarded under the HRL when a defendant's actions are found to amount to recklessness or willful negligence.

The lawsuit was filed about a month after the New York Attorney General's office accused Amazon of failing to take steps to protect workers at its Staten Island warehouse amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amazon has denied the AG's claims, and has filed its own lawsuit arguing that federal labor and workplace safety laws preempt the state laws cited in the AG's complaint.

The case is Thomas v. Amazon.com Inc, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, No. 1:21-cv-01325.

For Thomas: Douglas Lipsky of Lipsky Lowe

For Amazon: Not available