Maria Iris Jennitte Olivero had filed a lawsuit again e-commerce giant Amazon saying that the company had terminated her services as she had taken too many bathroom breaks. She had sued the company in June, in New Jersey Superior Court and was seeking damages, according to a report by Business Insider. Early this month, Amazon responded to the suit by asking for it to moved to federal court, it detailed Olivero’s wages as she was expecting more than 75,000 in damages.
In the lawsuit, Olivero said that she started working in Amazon in June 2020. In November 2020 she informed a manager that she was suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). So, she had to take about six bathroom breaks per day.
She stated that the manager had asked her to get a note from a doctor about her condition. According to the filing, she did not get the note. Later in January, the manager told her that she would get written up unless she produced a doctor’s note within five days.
According to her filing she was unable to get a doctor’s appointment within five days as the first available appointment with her doctor was in six days. However , she got fired five days after she was written up. The manager informed her that it was “too late” to provide a doctor’s note and the company was terminating her services.
Olivero then decided to sue the e-commerce company under New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination. She sued Amazon for discrimination against a person with a disability and failure to accommodate. During the pandemic, there had been reports that Amazon drivers were expected to pee in bottles during long hauls. Although the report was denied, initially but then accepted to be true, the company alone was not considered liable as many gas stations and more on highways and other routes had been closed due to lockdowns or economic distress.
Olivero did not disclose the amount of money she was seeking as damages though Amazon said that she was expecting more than $75,000 and that was one of the reasons that they asked for the case to be moved to federal court.
According to Business Insider, Amazon also detailed the wages of Olivero as follows- Amazon’s lawyers had replied that the plaintiff was earning $15.25 per hour or $31,720 annualized. It also mentioned that the plaintiff received a $0.60 per hour shift differential or $1,248.00 annualized. The company’s lawyers summed up the gross lost wages of the plaintiff. They said that at the time of filing, the “plaintiff’s purported gross lost wages to date are $17,251.75.”
Business Insider contacted both the plaintiff and defendant for comment but has not received any response, as yet.
