(Observer Network News) Comprehensive CBS, "New York Post" and other US media reported on November 3 that Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and now the world's third richest man, was recently sued and claimed by Mercedes Wedaa, a Latino former housekeeper, on the grounds that working conditions were unsafe and unhealthy and "racially discriminated" by colleagues.
Veda said she sometimes had to work 14 hours a day, and that when the Bezos family was home, she and other employees couldn't use the mansion bathroom and were sometimes forced to climb out of the laundry window to go to the bathroom.
Bezos' lawyer, Harry Korrell, called the allegations "ridiculous," denying that racism existed because Bezos' father was a Cuban immigrant and his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, was Latino. Corell also said Veda earns more than six figures (dollars) a year and has multiple restrooms and breaks available to her and other employees.
Bezos with his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez
Veda has long worked for Seattle's wealthy, including the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. She has been working at Bezos' home from 2019-2021.
According to the complaint, she was hired in September 2019 by a company that manages Bezos' property to work at Bezos' mansion in Seattle, and at one point was promoted to the supervisor's house to follow the direction of Bezos and his girlfriend Sanchez.
Veda filed a lawsuit in King County, Washington, this week, against Bezos and two companies that manage his property and personal investments (Zefram LLC and Northwestern LLC), according to a newly exposed court filing.
Veda alleges a lack of rest while working at Bezos' home, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, and claims that he has never been disciplined for his performance, but was fired for filing the complaint earlier.
"When the Bezos family is at home, the housekeepers are not allowed to enter their home except to perform cleaning tasks." For about 18 months, because the only door to the laundry room led to the home and they were not allowed to enter the home or use the nearest security room bathroom, she and other domestic workers had to climb outside from the laundry window, walk down the path to the machine room, cross the machine room and then downstairs to the bathroom, the indictment alleges.
Former housekeeper Mercedes Veda
The complaint alleges that the plaintiff and other domestic workers were unable to go to the toilet for most of the day because there were no accessible toilets, which led to them often suffering from urinary tract infections.
Veda also said that when the Bezos family was at home, she and other domestic workers were often required to work 10-14 hours a day without legal breaks or meal breaks, and they sometimes ate in the laundry room.
As a Latino employee, Veda said she and other Latino employees were racially discriminated against, and an assistant housing manager treated them differently than white employees and demoted her after complaining about a lack of rest and unsafe working conditions, appointing a white person as a supervisor.
Veda also compared his work experience at Bezos' home to the length of time he spent at Paul Allen's house. She said Paul Allen provided employees with dedicated rest areas, with fixed breaks and lunch breaks, as well as staff bathrooms that could be used at any time, and "Mr. Allen even provided food for the housekeeper and other staff."
The amount claimed in this lawsuit will be determined at trial.
In response to the allegations, Bezos' lawyer, Harry Corell, said in an email to the New York Post: "We have investigated these allegations, and they lack legal basis." ”
Corell added that Veda earns more than six figures (dollars) a year, she can decide when she rests and eats, and has multiple restrooms and break rooms for her and other employees.
Corell also said Mr. Veda was fired because of poor performance, and that a $9 million (65.39 million yuan) claim was rejected by the company responsible for hiring her, leading to a lawsuit against Bezos and two companies that manage her property and personal investments.
"Given their background, it is absurd to think that Bezos, Sanchez and their property management companies discriminated against her on the basis of Veda's race or ethnicity." Corell said in response to allegations of racial discrimination. The background he mentioned refers to Bezos' father being a Cuban immigrant and Sanchez being a Latina.
Patrick Leo McGuigan, a lawyer for Veda, said: "No employer is above the law, not even Bezos and the organizations he uses to find domestic or other local employees." ”
McGuigan said the defendants violated federal and state labor and employment laws that require workers to be able to work in a workplace that is free of discrimination, safety, health and health.
In the late '90s, Bezos bought the 5-acre (20,234-square-meter) waterside property in suburban Seattle. According to the Seattle Times, after extensive renovations and expansions, the house was worth about $70 million (about 509 million yuan) in 2017.
Source: Google Maps
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