Amazon is facing a federal lawsuit over bathroom breaks. It comes from a call center employee who says Amazon violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by firing him for “time theft.”
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, in Lexington, Kentucky, last week and, on Friday, KIRO-TV talked to Jim Adams, who filed the complaint on behalf of Nicholas Stover.
Stover has the digestive disorder Crohn’s disease, which leads to frequent trips to the bathroom. The lawsuit claims Stover was discriminated against and fired from the Amazon customer service center in Winchester, Kentucky.
“Nick had been a valued employee,” Adams said. “He was never provided with unscheduled bathroom time beyond the very small and draconian bathroom times for all employees.”
Amazon did not respond to KIRO-TV's request for comment because of the pending lawsuit. But Amazon previously said it does not monitor bathroom breaks.
“We believe the facts of this case will show that every minute, an employee is occupied,” Adams said, “and how they are occupied is electronically documented, and we believe there is nothing an employee does that isn't monitored.”
KIRO-TV has covered past union complaints of the high demand on workers at Amazon fulfilment centers. The current lawsuit out of Kentucky mentions high demands, but it zeroes in on the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“A manager told him at the time of his dismissal that the reason for his dismissal was time theft,” Adams said.
The lawsuit is seeking at least $3 million in damages.
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