Trans Man Sues Amazon For Pregnancy Discrimination And Harassment

Amazon cant help but to get itself into trouble. Whether its being exposed for a punishing work culture that redraw[s] the boundaries of what is acceptable, getting called out for its potential abuse of dominance , or being boycotted over reportedly poor labour practices and ties to anti-immigration policy , the online retailer seems to live in hot water. (In These Times has devoted an entire series to the vivid stories of Amazon workers; its latest instalment tracks a womans journey to organize her community against poor working conditions at a site known for some of the highest injury rates among all its fulfillment centres.)

The most recent exponent of this pattern arrived this month, when Shaun Simmons, a transgender man who is a former Amazon employee, filed a lawsuit with the Superior Court of New Jersey alleging pregnancy discrimination, harassment, and gender identity-based retaliation by co-workers and supervisors.

According to the 20-page court document, Simmons started working at an Amazon fulfillment centre in New Jersey back in January of 2015. Last June, he said, while his direct supervisor was away for training, he privately disclosed to his interim supervisor that he was pregnant.

When, the following day, another coworker congratulated him on the pregnancy, Simmons was shocked to realize that his interim supervisor had not kept his disclosure confidential. Hed been outed to his workmates, without his consent, as trans.

Watch: Amazon employees lead Prime Day boycott against the online retail giant. Story continues below.

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Simmonss lawsuit goes on to claim that this moment was followed by harassment. In an effort to demote him, Simmons alleges, his interim supervisors began heavily criticizing and castigating Simmonss work performance. When he made a complaint with human resources, he was sent home and given a paid leave of absence, a response that became the frustrating norm in the complaints he would continue to file afterward.

On one occasion, for example, Simmons said a coworker verbally harassed him about his gender identity in the mens bathroom. And rather than reprimanding that employee, human resources put Simmons on paid leave again.