Five Amazon employees have filed discrimination and retaliation lawsuits against the company. The complaints, filed in various authorities throughout the country, claim that the employees faced discrimination that was racial, sexual or gender-based from white managers and encountered retaliation when they complained.
“The pattern that you see in these lawsuits is that Amazon’s management, even when they run amok, are protected by the organization,” says Lawrence Pearson, the attorney representing the plaintiffs. “The employee who raises the concern is more often than not treated as the problem.”
In a statement made to Forbes in response to the lawsuits, Amazon said it is conducting investigations into each case. “We have found no evidence to support the allegations,” a company spokesperson. “Amazon works hard to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture. We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment in any form, and employees are encouraged to raise concerns to any member of management or through an anonymous ethics hotline with no risk of retaliation.”
Of the plaintiffs, three of them currently work at Amazon while two of them are former employees. All of them are women; two are Black, one is Asian-American, one is Latinx and one is White.
Details of Lawsuits by the plaintiffs.
One of the plaintiffs, Pearl Thomas, a Black 64-year-old human resources manager in Washington State, claims that she was called the “n-word” by her direct supervisor, who uttered the word on a call after thinking she had already hung up. She was placed on a performance improvement plan after complaining about this supervisor and another manager, her lawsuit alleges.
Another Black plaintiff, Tiffany Gordwin, claims she was rejected from a human resources manager role, and instead hired into a lower role, despite being qualified for the initial role. Currently employed at Amazon’s offices in Avondale, Arizona, she claims that she has been passed over for promotions that were instead given to White male counterparts.
Diana Cuervo, a 40-year-old Latinx woman who was an area manager at an Amazon warehouse in Everrett, Washington, claims she was fired after complaining about racial abuse from her supervisor. In the complaint, she alleges her supervisor made comments including “Latins suck,” and “How is a Latin like you working here?”
Two other plaintiffs, Emily Sousa and Cindy Warner, allege in separate claims that they were subject to gender, racial and sexual harassment.
These lawsuits come after another complaint filed in March by Charlotte Newman, an employee at Amazon Washington D.C. office, who alleged sexual harassment and racial discrimination.
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