Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday led a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos raising concerns that the world's richest man is putting his employees' lives at risk by failing to take adequate safety precautions and provide workers with necessary protective equipment in the midst of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

Highlighting Amazon's longstanding reputation for unsafe warehouse conditions, Omar, Sanders, and a dozen other Democratic lawmakers said they are worried that Bezos has not put in place a sufficient "internal pandemic preparedness and response plan."

"Amazon is putting the lives of workers at risk by exposing them to COVID-19."

—Rep. Ilhan Omar

"Workers at Amazon warehouses worldwide continue to raise concerns that their employer is not doing enough to protect them from exposure to COVID-19," the lawmakers wrote (pdf), pointing to a petition signed by more than 1,500 workers at the retail behemoth demanding paid sick leave for all employees, childcare benefits, hazard pay, and facility shut-downs if a worker tests positive for coronavirus.

At least 10 Amazon warehouse workers in the U.S. have tested positive for COVID-19, the Washington Post reported Thursday, and employees have complained that the company has not been transparent about the spread of the virus in their facilities.

Last week, Amazon shut down a warehouse in Queens, New York after one employee tested positive, but the facility was reopened the next afternoon after the company carried out what it described as "additional sanitation."

"Amazon's reaction to the coronavirus has left me shocked, scared, and disgusted," Jana Jumpp, an employee at a fulfillment center in Jeffersonville, Indiana, said during a call with reporters on Wednesday.

Amazon workers told CNBC that the breakneck pace the company demands from warehouse workers leaves little time for handwashing, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has emphasized as one of the most important individual self-hygiene steps to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Amazon is putting the lives of workers at risk by exposing them to COVID-19. That's why I led a letter with @SenSanders demanding a response plan to protect Amazon workers during this pandemic. pic.twitter.com/yyuOaAmem9 — Rep. Ilhan Omar (@Ilhan) March 27, 2020

The letter noted that Amazon's sales in the U.S. have surged "as many Americans turn to the online retail market for essential products as the federal government continues to encourage residents to stay home."

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"But as reliance on your business grows, so do the demands on your employees, as do the risks they face personally," the lawmakers wrote. "We ask that you intensify your efforts to protect the health and safety of your warehouse workers. No employee, especially those who work for one of the wealthiest corporations in the world, should be forced to work in unsafe conditions."

In addition to Omar and Sanders, the letter was also signed by Democratic Reps. Angie Craig (Minn.), Jesús G. 'Chuy' García (Ill.), Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), Ann Kirkpatrick (Ariz.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), Mark Takano (Calif.), Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), and Nydia Velázquez (N.Y.).

Read the full letter below: