Amazon fired warehouse worker with COPD on approved leave, lawsuit says

Then, the complaint says, Amazon began coding her protected absences as unexcused unpaid time off, or UPT. That clashed with the company’s own written attendance policy, quoted in the filing: “Amazon does not deduct UPT when absences are covered by paid time off, one of our leave of absence (LOA) policies, Accommodations Policy, or applicable law.” 

Dombrowsky says she flagged the problem more than once. On June 22, 2024, she told Amazon through its internal system that the company owed her about “47 hrs of UPT.” On October 8, 2024, Amazon wrote back that “[a]fter further review” her “timecard has been adjusted” and her “UPT is no longer negative.” Then, the filing alleges, the same miscoding started again. 

The complaint also alleges, on information and belief, that two Amazon HR partners – identified only as “Tim” and “Tyler” – knew about the coding issue. Tim allegedly raised it internally. Tyler, according to the filing, told Dombrowsky her absences should have been excused and that she should not have been terminated. The filing says nothing changed. 

On November 21, 2024, Amazon confirmed in writing that Dombrowsky still had approximately four weeks, 37 hours, and 46 minutes of FMLA leave remaining, the complaint says. 

The end came fast. Dombrowsky alleges she left a December 8, 2024 shift early with chest pain. The filing says Amazon coded the absence as UPT. Two days later, she was turned away at the security gate. A termination email from HR partner Zac Foster followed. Amazon’s internal “Supportive Feedback Document,” quoted in the complaint, states: “Your current UPT balance is -127. You are expected to meet 100% of the attendance performance expectation. As a result, your employment with Amazon is being separated effective immediately.”