Fired Amazon worker files discrimination lawsuit over Covid-19 conditions

A former Amazon.com Inc worker who protested conditions at his New York City fulfillment center sued the retailer on Thursday, accusing it of discrimination for firing him and for putting Black and Hispanic workers at heightened risk of contracting Covid-19.

In a proposed class action filed in Brooklyn federal court, Christian Smalls accused Amazon of failing to provide needed protective gear to its “predominantly minority” workforce, subjecting them to inferior working conditions than its mainly white managers.

Citing a leaked memo from Amazon’s general counsel to Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, Smalls also said Amazon fired him after concluding that as a Black man he was a “weak spokesman” for workers.