June 24, 2024 – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed a lawsuit against Amazon, located in Seattle, alleging that the company “illegally disciplined and terminated an employee” who had assisted in organizing a strike last May to protest new return-to-office directives issued by Amazon early last year.
According to the NLRB complaint, Amazon utilized its internal Chime system to “interrogate” employees about the strike. The affected employee, after organizing the strike, was first placed on a performance improvement plan by Amazon. The company offered a severance package equivalent to nine weeks of pay if the employee signed a resignation and global release agreement.
In response to the NLRB complaint, Amazon issued a statement to The Verge, stating that “the facts clearly show that this is not about whether this former employee opposed our return-to-office guidance. She had been performing poorly for almost a year, repeatedly failing to complete assigned projects. Despite significant support and guidance provided by the company, the former employee was unable to improve her performance and chose to leave the company.”
The incident stems from a series of events that began in February 2023, when Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sent an email to employees outlining new return-to-office guidelines. Previously, individual teams within the company could decide where employees worked, but Jassy’s email indicated that from May 1, 2023, most Amazon employees would be required to work in the office at least three days a week, with some positions such as sales and customer support being exempt.
Thousands of Amazon employees signed a petition opposing the new rules and held a strike in May-June 2023. In August 2023, during a meeting disclosed by The Insider magazine, Andy Jassy reiterated the company’s commitment to having employees return to the office most of the week.
The NLRB’s lawsuit against Amazon marks a significant escalation in labor tensions between the company and its employees. The outcome of this legal dispute could have wide-reaching implications for labor rights and employee protections within the tech industry.
