A former Amazon worker filed a lawsuit this month against the online retail giant claiming disability and racial discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation.
Mario Willis, an African American with a disability, was an Amazon packer at a warehouse in south suburban Matteson who was fired in May 2023. He said Amazon discriminated against him and retaliated after he saw a female worker sexually harass and grope another female colleague, according to a complaint filed July 9 in Cook County Circuit Court.
“Amazon egregiously punished an employee who tried to do the right thing by standing up for his co-worker,” said Heidi Karr Sleper, a lawyer at Workplace Law Partners who represents Willis. “Not many warehouse employees and lawyers have the resources to fight back against a corporation the size of Amazon.”
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
When Willis was hired in November 2021, he told Amazon that he had a birth defect of being born without thumbs. An operations manager said he would be accommodated for his disability by not having to meet the same quotas as Amazon’s nondisabled co-workers.
In February 2022, Willis’ white, female supervisor complained about him to Human Resources, who told him “he looked mean and made his co-workers uncomfortable,” according to the lawsuit. His supervisor then complained to HR that Willis was packing too slowly.
After Willis told HR that he felt like he was being discriminated against, Amazon suspended him with pay for three days. When he returned to work, Amazon gave him four disciplinary write-ups that he was “required to sign in order to keep his employment,” the lawsuit states.
Willis requested a different position under another supervisor and reported his treatment to Amazon’s ethics department.
While at work in February 2023, Willis stopped to speak with co-worker Candice Plunkett. Another female employee walked past them and groped Plunkett, who later reported the harassment to Amazon with Willis as a consenting witness.
Amazon opened an investigation into the incident but closed its inquiry in May 2023 without disciplining the female worker accused of harassment, according to the lawsuit.
A couple of weeks later, Willis got a phone call from an Amazon representative saying the company was firing him for inappropriately touching someone, even though he was a witness to the harassment incident.
In September 2023, Willis filed a charge of discrimination with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. The department’s investigation concluded in April and granted him the right to sue.
“The IDHR found substantial evidence that his termination was the result of discrimination and retaliation,” Sleper, of Workplace Law Partners, said.
Willis, a South Side resident, is seeking back and front pay, lost wages, compensation for emotional distress and other damages. The lawsuit did not specify a dollar amount for damages.