His former maid, Mercedes Wedaa, is suing Amazon founder billionaire Jeff Bezos. The charges brought forward by Wedaa, who appealed to the King County Supreme Court in Seattle on November 1, created much controversy.
In her petition to the court, Wedaa stated that she was racially discriminated against because of her Latin origin, and that she and other domestic workers were forced to work in inhumane conditions.
Stating that Bezos worked at his Seattle mansion for three years, Wedaa said that he and other Latino employees were treated differently from white employees. Wedaa said his all-white managers were "respectful and polite" to the white gardeners, while they treated him and the Latina maids "offensive and abusive" over a three-year period.
Stating that he was unfairly dismissed after voicing his complaints about discrimination, illegal reactions and working conditions, Wedaa demanded both pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages. Allegedly, her manager cited the woman's "unhappy appearance" as the reason for firing Wedaa, arguing that it could affect the entire team.
'We Worked 14 Hours a Day'
Wedaa, who started working at the home of billionaire businessman Bezos in 2019, claimed that while Bezos and his family members were at home, they had to work 10 to 14 hours a day without having lunch and resting.
The details of the petition stated that Wedaa and other employees suffered from frequent urinary tract infections because they were not allowed to enter Bezos' home "except for their cleaning duties" and were "not able to use the toilet for most of the day".
In the petition published by GeekWire, a technology news site broadcasting in Seattle; "For about 18 months, the plaintiff and other employees in the household had to step out of the laundry room window. Employees who ran down a path in the garden to the machine room passed through and used the downstairs toilet allocated to the gardeners."
Bezos' Lawyer Denies All Claims
Harry Korrell, one of Bezos' lawyers, denied all allegations and called Wedaa's allegations of racial discrimination "absurd".
In Korell's statement; "We investigated the allegations and found that they had no basis. Wedaa's annual income was in the six figures. She was the head maid of the house. She was responsible for her own recess and meal times. She had many bathrooms and rest rooms. Both she and other staff members could use it."
Korrell stated that Wedaa was fired due to poor performance; "She initially asked for over $9 million, and when the company refused, she decided to file a lawsuit. It is absurd to say that Bezos, Sanchez, or Northwestern discriminated against Wedaa because of her race or national origin, given her own origins," he said.