A former employee has taken legal action against a major online retail giant, alleging wrongful termination and discrimination based on disability. Comisa Brown filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on November 26, 2024, accusing Amazon.com Services LLC of violating her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act (IWCA).
The lawsuit details Brown's employment as a warehouse associate at Amazon starting in November 2023 until her termination in June 2024. Brown claims she sustained workplace injuries that led to a sprained ankle and shoulder injury, significantly impacting her ability to perform daily activities. Despite these challenges, she asserts that she was capable of fulfilling her job duties with reasonable accommodations. However, according to Brown, Amazon failed to provide necessary accommodations such as light-duty work and reduced hours despite multiple requests supported by medical documentation.
Brown alleges that after suffering an ankle injury in December 2023, Amazon did not inform her about filing a workers' compensation claim. She states that repeated inquiries to Human Resources were met with inadequate responses. Further complicating matters, when Brown requested accommodations in February 2024 due to her injuries, Amazon allegedly delayed or denied these requests without engaging in an interactive process to determine suitable accommodations.
The situation escalated when Brown suffered a shoulder injury in late February 2024. Although Amazon eventually provided some accommodations for her ankle injury—such as additional breaks and lifting restrictions—it failed to adjust her work schedule to reflect reduced hours as needed for her shoulder recovery. This oversight led to accumulated negative time records against Brown’s attendance, which ultimately resulted in her termination.
Brown contends that other non-disabled employees did not face similar treatment and accuses Amazon of retaliatory actions linked to her exercise of rights under both ADA and IWCA. The complaint cites violations including discrimination based on disability, failure to accommodate, retaliation for requesting accommodations, and wrongful termination related to workers’ compensation claims.
In seeking redress from the court, Brown demands back pay with interest, front pay, compensatory and punitive damages, loss of benefits compensation, attorney fees and costs coverage, pre-judgment interest if applicable, and any further relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Representing Comisa Brown are attorneys Nathan C. Volheim and Mally L. Slone from Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., while the case is presided over by judges within the Northern District of Illinois under Case ID: 1:24-cv-12226.