Amazon Must Face Pregnancy Discrimination Claim After Worker's Termination

An Amazon warehouse worker's claim that she was fired due to her pregnancy has been allowed to proceed, after a federal judge ruled that the timing of her termination and subsequent events indicated adverse action based on her sex and pregnancy.

The worker, Delitz, alleged that after informing Amazon she was pregnant, her overtime hours were reduced. When she requested light duty to accommodate her pregnancy, her overtime was eliminated altogether.

Delitz claimed that while Amazon granted her request for light duty, she was fired 17 days later for supposedly 'sitting down in a trailer' two months earlier. She denied the infraction and stated that she never received any written warnings.

The Illinois federal court found that the close connection between Delitz's pregnancy disclosure, restrictions on her overtime, and her termination indicated adverse action based on her sex and pregnancy.