A lawsuit filed by a cleaner who worked for Jeff Bezos accuses him of racial discrimination and creating hazardous working conditions.
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A member of Bezos’ staff hired Mercedes Wedaa in 2019 to work as a maid for his Seattle property. Wedaa and other housekeepers allegedly worked 10 to 14-hour days without a lunch break, according to the lawsuit. Wedaa further asserted that the housekeepers were denied access to a bathroom in a nearby security room and that there was no designated break room or rest facility for them. Because of this, workers had to enter another bathroom through a window in the laundry room.
The lawsuit also claimed that Wedaa and her colleagues were forbidden from going into Bezos’ house while his family was there unless they were completing cleaning tasks. Wedaa claimed that she was the victim of racial discrimination because white housekeepers received preferential treatment at the residence, while she and other Hispanic housekeepers were treated with disdain.
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“She’s a hard-working American, a person who’s been in this industry for some years now, housekeeping for wealthy, high-profile families. She’s never had any issues with anyone,” said her lawyer Patrick Leo McGuigan of HKM Employment Attorneys LLP. Wedaa claims she was fired after complaining about the workplace conditions and racial discrimination.
“No employer is above the law, not even Jeff Bezos and the organizations he uses to locate and hire people to work for him at his home and at his other properties.”
Wedaa v. Bezos, et al by GeekWire
Jeff Bezos’ lawyer responds to the lawsuit, says the former housekeeper was fired for other reasons
Harry Korell, the lawyer for Bezos and other companies, said she was fired due to performance issues and was paid six figures a year. Wedaa is seeking damages for back pay and benefits lost, emotional distress, and other claims. guyhj