NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday ruled against Amazon.com Inc as it defends against a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Letitia James over the online retailer’s handling of worker safety issues around the COVID-19 pandemic at two warehouses. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan granted James’ request to return her lawsuit to the New York state court where she had filed it on Feb. 16. He rejected Amazon’s request to move the lawsuit to Brooklyn federal court, where the company had sued James four days earlier to stop her from suing. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. James’ office had no immediate comment.