Fired Amazon worker alleges HR reopened a closed case to fire him

The timeline the filing lays out is tight. On March 13, 2024, the complaint says he emailed site leadership a formal complaint opposing what he “reasonably believed to be unequal, racially and age-discriminatory enforcement of workplace policies.” Within about 24 hours, the filing alleges, the company opened a disciplinary action against him – one it claims rested on allegations “backdated approximately seven (7) months to construct a fraudulent, inescapable pretextual trap.” 

According to the complaint, that process focused on a claim that he had asked a manager out and sent her flowers – something the filing says he first learned of during the March proceeding. The complaint alleges a company investigator closed the matter with a final written warning, recording that they “could not find one party more credible than the other due to varying statements and no concrete evidence.” 

The filing then alleges HR intervened. It claims an HR manager “overrode the formal resolution of the investigator and resurrected the closed case file,” folding the March 13 complaint email and a separate birthday-gift allegation back in to support termination. According to the complaint, the HR manager said, “I want to see you get out of this one,” and, “We know for a fact you asked her out.” 

The filing also attributes comments to a site manager. According to the complaint, she said, “You brought this on yourself when you asked her out months ago,” and asked, “What gave you the idea that you could date someone 5 times your status?” 

The complaint says the company fired him on or about April 12, 2024, citing harassment. It alleges that at a later state unemployment appeal hearing, the company’s HR testified the firing was based, at least in part, on his having routed the original complaint “to the incorrect manager.”