An Amazon warehouse employee who needed surgery to repair two work-related hernias was fired for “missing work” while recuperating at home following surgery, according to a federal civil rights lawsuit obtained by Amazon. independent.
Although Las Vegas resident Rashawn Brown was officially on sick leave, his complaint alleges that Amazon’s automated attendance system misclassified his absences as unexcused and “automatically terminated” him five days into his approved two-week recovery period.
Amazon’s human resources department “acknowledged that these errors were their department’s fault” but “failed to correct them,” the lawsuit says, claiming that the company instead took the opportunity to punish Brown for filing a workers’ compensation claim for an on-the-job injury.
According to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, workers working in Amazon warehouses suffer musculoskeletal injuries, including hernias, at four times the rate of other workers in the industry. A 2024 report from the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee said Amazon “continues to push workers to move faster but fails to provide a safe environment, resulting in extremely high rates of worker injury.”
“Not everyone reports injuries because they’re afraid of being fired or told they can no longer work there,” one Amazon warehouse worker told reporters. The Guardian. “I came home many times with bruises from working at Amazon, where I experienced my first hernia.”
People who work in Amazon warehouses are four times more likely to suffer musculoskeletal injuries than their peers in the industry, according to state regulators (Getty Images)
Another worker at an Amazon warehouse in Rocktavon, New York, described her department as a “hernia factory.”
In addition to hernias, which can tear the abdominal muscle wall from lifting and straining, Amazon warehouse workers are susceptible to a variety of injuries, most commonly sprains, strains, and lower back problems.
“It feels like we’re living in a new Gilded Age, where corporate giants refuse to acknowledge worker safety while their founder is the second-richest man on the planet,” Senator Martin Looney of Connecticut said in 2023, referring to Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. Bezos, a former critic-turned-supporter of Donald Trump, has a reported net worth of more than $220 billion.
Hourly wages for Amazon warehouse workers in the United States range from $18.50 to about $22.
Matthew T. Hale, an attorney representing Brown, said in an email independent His client “was fired from his job by Amazon while recovering from approved surgery for an on-the-job injury, and we are proud to represent him in seeking the justice he deserves.”
An Amazon spokesman did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
According to Brown’s complaint filed in Nevada federal court on February 27, he began working as an Amazon warehouse associate in December 2023.
The company’s job page tells potential candidates that warehouse associates pick, pack and ship orders to Amazon customers “in some cases, for our ultra-fast (2 hours or less) delivery service.” Candidates must be able to lift up to 49 pounds, push a utility cart up to 60 pounds, go up and down stairs, move items using hand trucks, dollies and dollies, and be able to “stand, walk, push, pull, squat, bend and stretch during the shift,” it said.
According to Amazon warehouse worker Lashone Brown’s complaint, as he prepared for an upcoming surgery, he “repeatedly reported to Human Resources that the system was misclassifying his approved leave and accommodations as unexcused absences.” However, it claims, HR never took any action (AFP via Getty Images)
On January 15, 2025, more than two years after Brown was hired by Amazon, he suffered an on-the-job injury that “resulted in an inguinal and umbilical hernia that limited his ability to lift and perform his daily duties,” according to the complaint.
Inguinal hernias are located in the groin area; umbilical hernias occur in the belly button.
Brown subsequently filed a workers’ compensation claim and was placed on various medical restrictions, including a five-pound lifting limit, the lawsuit states. Amazon complied with the request, assigning Brown light-duty assignments through a “temporary job placement confirmation,” according to the complaint.
Over the next few months, Brown allegedly accepted approved leave and returned to work in August “with continued restrictions.”
“Amazon issued a second temporary job placement confirmation, but its automated attendance system failed to recognize his approved accommodation and incorrectly assigned negative attendance points,” the complaint states.
As Brown prepared for his upcoming surgery, he “repeatedly reported to…Amazon Human Resources that the system was misclassifying his approved time off and accommodations as unexcused absences,” according to the indictment. However, HR never took any action, it claimed.
On October 10, 2025, Brown underwent surgery to repair the hernia and the complaints continued.
“Although he had been approved for leave before October 24, Amazon failed to remove him from the schedule and the system continued to record the absence,” it maintained.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, the world’s second-richest man, was married in Venice. The online retail giant has been criticized for its unusually high injury rate at its warehouses (AFP via Getty Images)
On October 15, 2025, “While recovering at home, Amazon voluntarily terminated Mr. Brown for excessive absences from work, all of which were actually approved disability-related leave or light-duty accommodations that were misclassified due to a known system error,” the complaint states.
It claims that this is “the right [Brown’s] “Protected activity” — specifically, his workers’ compensation claim, which could cause the company’s insurance premiums to go up, trigger safety audits, draw prompt attention from regulators, and more.
Last month, Brown filed discrimination charges against Amazon with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Nevada Equal Rights Commission, according to the complaint. He received a so-called right-to-sue notice and filed a lawsuit against Amazon last week.
Brown’s complaint accuses Amazon of various errors, including failure to provide reasonable accommodations, discharge for violation, workplace discrimination and interference with Family and Medical Leave Act rights, and claims the company subsequently refused to reinstate him.
Amazon acted “with malice…or reckless indifference or conscious disregard” [Brown’s] Brown “suffered unlawful discrimination, loss of employment, income and benefits,” and “suffered physical and mental harm and will continue to suffer substantial financial, mental and emotional harm, pain and distress,” the complaint states.
Brown is seeking compensatory, special and general damages for lost earnings, wages, bonuses and other benefits; emotional distress damages; and punitive and exemplary damages “in an amount sufficient to… set an example and deter [Amazon] and refrain from engaging in such conduct in the future,” plus attorney fees and court costs.
Amazon received a copy of Brown’s lawsuit on Monday and now has about three weeks to respond to the allegations.
