A former Amazon warehouse associate has filed a lawsuit alleging pregnancy discrimination and retaliation. Teresita Galan, the plaintiff, lodged her complaint against Amazon COM Services, LLC in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on June 6, 2024.
Galan's complaint centers around alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) of 2023. According to court documents, Galan claims she was subjected to different terms and conditions of employment upon returning from a pregnancy-related leave in January 2024. She alleges that her supervisor placed her on light duty but later faced termination after attempting to secure reasonable accommodations for her pregnancy. Specifically, Galan requested to lift no more than twenty-five pounds and to sit for fifteen minutes every two hours. Despite submitting the necessary paperwork on March 26, 2024, she was terminated two days later under the pretext of "no call, no shows," although she had been instructed not to return until her paperwork was approved.
The complaint further details that Galan had met or exceeded performance expectations throughout her employment with Amazon since October 16, 2022. She asserts that Amazon failed to engage in an interactive process to determine appropriate accommodations and retaliated against her for requesting these accommodations by terminating her employment. The lawsuit claims that this treatment constituted a hostile work environment based on sex and pregnancy, violating both Title VII and PWFA.
In addition to seeking back pay with interest and compensatory damages, Galan is also asking for punitive damages, attorneys' fees, costs associated with the lawsuit, pre-judgment interest if applicable, and any other relief deemed just by the court. The case highlights ongoing issues related to workplace discrimination against pregnant employees and raises questions about how large corporations handle such sensitive matters.
Representing Galan is attorney Chad W. Eisenback from Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., while the presiding judge has yet to be named. The case ID is 1:24-cv-04706.