Housekeeper sues Jeff Bezos for alleged discrimination, workers rights abuses
Nov 3, 2022, 11:55 AM | Updated: 12:20 pm
A lawsuit has been filed against Jeff Bezos, the former president and CEO of Amazon, by one of his former housekeepers.
Mercedes Wedaa said she was discriminated against because of her race and subjected to a series of workers’ rights abuses.
The housekeeper worked at Bezos’ Seattle-area home for nearly three years.
MacKenzie Scott, former wife of Jeff Bezos, files for divorce from second husband
The lawsuit lists Bezos as the defendant, along with Zefram LLC and Northwestern LLC, which manages his personal investments and properties.
In the lawsuit, Wedaa is described as “a housekeeper for wealthy/high-profile families for 18 years. During this time Plaintiff was an exceptional employee who never had any performance issues. In many of the previous positions Plaintiff has held, she functioned as lead housekeeper and had supervisory responsibilities.”
Among the allegations in the suit, Wedaa claims that she and other housekeepers had to work 10, 12, or sometimes 14-hour days without any designated area for employee breaks, having to instead eat meals in a small laundry room without anywhere to sit down.
Other issues included in the lawsuit are access to bathrooms, regular rest breaks, and proper payment for overtime hours.
The suit also alleges that some staff demeaned Wedaa and other Hispanic employees and treated them worse than a white housekeeper.
Wedaa claims she was wrongfully terminated after raising complaints about alleged discrimination, undue retaliation, and working conditions.
Bezos representative Harry Korrell of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP said in a comment that the lawsuit is baseless and will fight against the claims made.
“We have investigated the claims, and they lack merit. Ms. Wedaa made over six figures annually and was the lead housekeeper. She was responsible for her own break and meal times, and there were several bathrooms and break rooms available to her and other staff. The evidence will show that Ms. Wedaa was terminated for performance reasons. She initially demanded over $9M, and when the company refused, she decided to file this suit. Given their backgrounds, the suggestion that Mr. Bezos, Ms. Sanchez, or Northwestern LLC discriminated against Ms. Wedaa based on her race or national origin is absurd.”
MyNorthwest reached out to Zefram LLC and Northwestern LLC for a comment but has not received a response.
