Amazon Faces Class Action Alleging Systematic Discrimination Against Disabled Workers

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing the tech giant of systematically discriminating against employees with disabilities through the use of automated systems to deny or delay workplace accommodations.

The complaint, filed October 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, was brought by nine current and former Amazon employees across multiple states. The plaintiffs… represented by New York–based firm Harman Green PC… allege Amazon routinely rejects medical accommodation requests, forces disabled employees onto unpaid leave, and in some cases terminates them rather than allowing remote work or other reasonable adjustments.

The lawsuit also claims that Amazon’s internal “A to Z” app, which manages accommodation requests, relies in part on artificial intelligence to process cases — creating technical delays and preventing meaningful human review. Among the plaintiffs are Ashley Cook, a Texas-based cloud engineer and U.S. military veteran, who said Amazon ignored multiple remote-work requests she submitted through the app before placing her on unpaid leave. Another plaintiff, Amy Rooker, an investment manager for Amazon Web Services, alleges she was terminated after her request to work remotely due to chronic pain from a car accident was denied.

Other claims include warehouse employees being dismissed or placed on unpaid leave following hospitalizations or seizure-related medical incidents. The complaint says the plaintiffs’ experiences are “representative of tens of thousands of current and former employees,” suggesting the issue could affect a wide swath of Amazon’s 1.5 million-person global workforce.

An internal Amazon document cited in the lawsuit estimates the company receives roughly 725 accommodation requests per day, or more than 250,000 annually. Amazon declined to disclose how many of those requests are granted. Amazon called the allegations “simply untrue and intentionally misleading.” “Most of the allegations in this case are simply untrue and intentionally misleading, and we plan to demonstrate that through the legal process,” Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser told Yahoo Finance.

The company acknowledged that it is testing the use of AI tools for administrative tasks within the accommodations process but said those tools are not responsible for making final decisions on requests. “We’re committed to supporting our employees by providing accommodations that meet their individual needs and the needs of the business,” Glasser added.

The case comes amid a broader wave of discrimination complaints against Amazon. In October, New Jersey’s attorney general filed a similar lawsuit accusing the company of mistreating disabled and pregnant warehouse workers. The New York State Division of Human Rights filed a comparable suit in 2022, and several private cases alleging disability, race, and gender discrimination remain pending. Legal experts say the new complaint raises significant questions about automation in HR decision-making. Former EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows told Yahoo Finance that employers must engage in a “good-faith interactive process” under the Americans With Disabilities Act when employees request accommodations. “More and more employees are in a situation where they can’t get relief because they’re in an automated process that doesn’t allow them to appeal to a person,” she said.

The lawsuit has galvanized support from Disabled Employees United, a group of 662 Amazon corporate workers seeking to unionize. The organization said roughly 140 members have received right-to-sue notices from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)... a procedural step that allows them to file their own lawsuits.

The complaint also alleges that Amazon has restricted internal discussion of workers’ rights by deleting Slack messages in disability-related employee groups. Amazon said the deletions were due to violations of its solicitation policy.If certified as a class action by Judge John Chun, the lawsuit could cover tens of thousands of Amazon employees and former workers across the United States. Amazon’s stock was little changed in late trading Friday. The company recently announced 14,000 additional layoffs as it scales back costs and invests heavily in AI infrastructure.

About Amazon.com, Inc.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), headquartered in Seattle, Washington, is one of the world’s largest technology and e-commerce companies. Founded in 1994, Amazon operates global businesses across online retail, cloud computing through Amazon Web Services (AWS), digital entertainment, and artificial intelligence. The company employs more than 1.5 million people worldwide.

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News holds positions in Amazon as mentioned in the article.