Amazon Warehouse Employee Fired While Recovering From Surgery To Fix Hernias He Got On Job, Lawsuit Says

An Amazon storage worker who needed room to repair 2 work-related hernias was fired for “non-attendance” while he recuperated astatine location from nan operation, according to a national civilian authorities suit obtained by The Independent.

Although Las Vegas resident Lashone Brown had been granted charismatic aesculapian leave, his title says Amazon’s automated attendance strategy misclassified his absences arsenic unexcused, and “automatically terminated” him 5 days into his approved two-week betterment period.

Amazon HR “acknowledged nan errors were their department’s fault,” but “did not correct them,” nan title contends, alleging that nan institution alternatively took nan opportunity to punish Brown for filing a workers’ compensation declare complete his on-the-job injuries.

People moving successful Amazon warehouses suffer musculoskeletal injuries, which see hernias, astatine a complaint four times that of nan remainder of nan industry, according to nan Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. A 2024 report by nan U.S. Senate Committee connected Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions said Amazon’s “relentless efforts to push workers to move faster and its nonaccomplishment to supply a safe situation consequence successful workers getting injured astatine highly precocious rates.”

“Not each group study injuries because they are frightened to get taken disconnected their occupation aliases told they can’t activity complete location anymore,” 1 Amazon storage worker told The Guardian. “I person galore times travel location pinch bruises from activity astatine Amazon and I knowledgeable my first hernia there.”

Another worker astatine an Amazon storage successful Rock Tavern, New York, described her section arsenic “a hernia factory.”

Aside from hernias, a tear successful nan abdominal musculus wall which tin travel astir owed to dense lifting and straining, Amazon storage unit are prone to each mode of injury, nan astir communal being sprains, strains, and little backmost issues.

“It’s arsenic if we’re surviving successful immoderate caller Gilded Age, wherever a firm elephantine refuses to admit worker information while its laminitis is nan second-wealthiest personification connected nan planet,” Connecticut State Sen. Martin Looney said successful 2023, referring to Amazon laminitis and CEO Jeff Bezos, a Donald Trump critic-turned-supporter pinch a reported nett worthy of much than $220 billion.

Amazon storage workers successful nan U.S. gain between $18.50 and astir $22 an hour.

In an email, lawyer Matthew T. Hale, who is representing Brown, told The Independent that his customer “was terminated by Amazon while recovering from approved room for a workplace injury, and we are proud to correspond him successful seeking nan justness he deserves.”

An Amazon spokesperson did not respond connected Wednesday to a petition for comment.

Brown began moving arsenic an Amazon storage subordinate successful December 2023, according to his complaint, which was revenge February 27 successful Nevada national court.

Warehouse associates pick, pack, and vessel orders to Amazon customers, “in immoderate cases, for our super-fast (2-hour aliases less) transportation service,” nan company’s careers page tells prospective applicants. It says candidates must beryllium capable to assistance up to 49 pounds, push inferior carts up to 60 pounds, spell up and down stairs, usage carts, dollies, and manus trucks to move items around, and to “stand, walk, push, pull, squat, bend, and scope during shifts.”

On January 15, 2025, much than 2 years aft Brown hired connected astatine Amazon, he sewage wounded astatine work, “resulting successful an inguinal and umbilical hernia that constricted his expertise to assistance and execute regular duties,” nan title states.

An inguinal hernia is located successful nan groin area; an umbilical hernia occurs successful one’s navel.

Brown past revenge a workers’ compensation declare and was fixed various aesculapian restrictions, including a five-pound lifting limit, nan title goes on. Amazon complied, assigning Brown to light-duty assignments via a “Temporary Work Placement Acknowledgement,” according to nan complaint.

For nan adjacent respective months, it says Brown took approved leave, returning to activity that August “with continued restrictions.”

“Amazon issued a 2nd Temporary Work Placement Acknowledgement, but its automated attendance strategy grounded to admit his approved accommodation and improperly assigned antagonistic attendance points,” nan title alleges.

As he prepared for his impending surgery, Brown “repeatedly reported to… Amazon HR that nan strategy was misclassifying his approved time off and accommodations arsenic unexcused absences,” according to nan complaint. However, it alleges, HR ne'er did thing astir it.

On October 10, 2025, Brown had his hernias surgically repaired, nan title continues.

“Although he was connected approved time off done October 24, Amazon grounded to region him from nan schedule, and nan strategy continued to grounds absences,” it maintains.

On October 15, 2025, “while recovering astatine home, Amazon automatically terminated Mr. Brown for excessive absences, each of which were really approved disability-related time off aliases light-duty accommodations misclassified owed to known strategy errors,” nan title states.

This, it asserts, was “retaliation for [Brown’s] protected activity” – specifically, his workers’ compensation claim, which tin origin a company’s security premiums to rise, induce information audits, punctual attraction from regulators, and nan like.

Last month, Brown revenge favoritism charges against Amazon pinch nan U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and nan Nevada Equal Rights Commission, according to nan complaint. He was issued a alleged correct to writer announcement and revenge suit against Amazon past week.

Brown’s title accuses Amazon of various wrongs, among them nonaccomplishment to supply reasonable accommodation, tortious discharge, workplace discrimination, and interference pinch Family and Medical Leave Act rights, claiming nan institution subsequently refused to reinstate him.

Amazon acted “with malice… aliases pinch reckless indifference aliases conscious disregard of [Brown’s] rights,” according to nan complaint. It says Brown was “subjected to unlawful discrimination, nonaccomplishment of his employment, and nonaccomplishment of income and benefits,” and that he has “suffered beingness and intelligence injury, and will proceed to suffer awesome financial, intelligence and affectional injury, symptom and distress.”

Brown is seeking compensatory, special, and wide damages for mislaid earnings, salary, bonuses, and different benefits; affectional distress damages; and punitive and exemplary damages “in an magnitude capable to… make an illustration of and deter [Amazon] from engaging successful specified behaviour successful nan future,” positive attorneys’ fees and tribunal costs.

Amazon, which was served pinch a transcript of Brown’s suit connected Monday, now has astir 3 weeks to record an reply to nan allegations.