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The rules didn't seem crazy to me at all. Seemed to me that the author of the article was making a lot of assumptions based upon information provided by a single source, and was trying to give the impression that those rules applied to all workers.
It appears that the "crazy" rules apply to the temporary workers that are hired over the holiday season - ones that come from staffing companies. Not to knock those people who work through staffing companies, because a lot of good workers go that route, but a lot of people who can't for one reason or another hold a steady job often get jobs via the temporary staffing companies. Those might not necessarily be the people Amazon would hire if they were vetting all their employees on their own for permanent jobs.
There doesn't seem to be any basis for the "can't wear what Amazon sells" allegation. No lipstick makes sense because then there's no chance of lipstick smears getting on any of the merchandise. Less chance of a temp worker "sampling" the merchandise, too. Drinking water means that if it spills, it's less likely to permanently damage the merchandise; clear bottles allow verification of what the liquid is (I know someone who used to carry vodka and orange juice in a thermos).
Wrapping presents incorrectly wastes time. Getting written up because you work slower than others is SOP in most businesses. I'm sure there's no rule about not being allowed to get sick. The employee mentioned, given the premise of the article, was probably a temp hire. We don't know what the conditions of employment were, but perhaps she denied any health problems at the time of hire. What company wants to hire a temp worker during a high-selling period who is going to be out sick frequently? The point of the hire is that they are going to be able to be present to do the work.
I had a 3 minute buffer on my job for signing in and out. 7 minutes seems generous. The reason why signing out later would be noted would be because working over tour comes into play, i.e. possible overtime pay would be involved for unauthorized work time.
They are temporary workers, hired to expedite the shipping backlog; they weren't hired to make friends with their coworkers and chit-chat beyond normal work-related conversations.
Not wearing a watch makes sense. It's too easy to walk out with a watch that you didn't walk in with.
Re no excuses for being late, temp workers again. Amazon doesn't need to know the reason they are late because they're not permanent employees and their rules of employment are probably different. They are probably being paid through the staffing companies, and the late points provide justification and documentation for advising the staffing company that the person they recommended for the work is unsatisfactory.
As someone who filed my fair share of grievances against my employer over the years, I don't see anything in Amazon's rules that are "crazy" given the specific situation of temporary workers during the holiday season.
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