Judge rules Amazon must reinstate fired warehouse worker
Source: AP
By HALELUYA HADERO
A judge has ruled Amazon must reinstate a former warehouse employee who was fired in the early days of the pandemic, saying the company unlawfully terminated the worker who led a protest calling for Amazon to do more to protect employees against COVID-19.
The dispute involving Gerald Bryson, who worked at an Amazon warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island, has stretched on since June 2020, when Bryson filed an unfair labor practice complaint with The National Labor Relations Board, claiming Amazon retaliated against him.
Later that year, the NLRB said it found merit in Brysons complaint that Amazon illegally fired him for workplace organizing. Amazon didnt accept the findings, and the federal board filed a formal complaint against the company, triggering a lengthy administrative court process.
On Monday, administrative law judge Benjamin Green said Amazon must offer Bryson his job back, as well as lost wages and benefits resulting from his discriminatory discharge. Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement that the company will appeal the ruling.
FILE - An Amazon logo appears on an Amazon delivery van, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, in Boston. On Monday, April 18, 2022, a judge ordered Amazon to reinstate a former employee who was fired in the early days of the pandemic after leading a protest calling for the company to do more to protect workers against COVID-19. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-business-national-labor-relations-board-new-york-city-a3c0e9ed9119e4bcc1fbe51e77a93254