Amazon Settles With 2 Employees Who Claimed Wrongful Termination

Amazon.com, Inc AMZN has reportedly settled a case filed by a union against it with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that alleged that the Jeff Bezos-founded company wrongly fired two employees.

What Happened: NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado said Wednesday that it had reached a “non-board settlement” with Amazon, The Wall Street Journal reported.

“We have reached a mutual agreement that resolves the legal issues in this case and welcome the resolution of this matter,” said an Amazon spokesperson, as per the Journal.

See Also: How To Buy Amazon (AMZN) Shares

The United Food and Commercial Workers union in Washington state, which filed the complaint, said that there is a nationwide requirement as a part of the settlement that “Amazon make a posting notifying Tech and Warehouse workers of the settlement notice and that they have the right under the law to express themselves in collective and concerted activity.”

“We felt that the workers had a strong case from the beginning, and we want to encourage all workers to speak out in a collective and constructive way to improve their workplaces if they so choose,” said Faye Guenther, president of UFCW21, the Journal reported.

Why It Matters: The union complaint alleged that Amazon fired the employees based on a “discriminatory enforcement of policies or work rules,” the Journal noted.

See Also: Amazon Calls Cops On Lawmakers After Inviting Them To Probe Warehouse Safety

The complaint was reportedly later amended to include a mention of the activities of the two employees in support of Amazon’s U.S. warehouse employees and their efforts related to COVID-19 safety precautions.

An Amazon spokesperson said earlier in the week that the employees weren’t fired for speaking about working conditions or safety but rather for violation of internal policies, as per the Journal.

Last March, a striking warehouse employee, Chris Smalls, was fired by Amazon for purportedly violating social distancing guidelines.

Smalls along with nearly 50 other employees had participated in labor action.

Subsequently, the New York attorney general’s office began an investigation into Amazon’s response to safety concerns and said that the e-commerce giant may have violated New York’s whistleblower laws by firing Smalls.

Price Action: On Wednesday, Amazon shares closed 0.45% lower at $3,301.12 in the regular session and rose 0.27% in the after-hours trading.

Read Next: Amazon Dishes Out Cars, $100K In Rewards To Workers As It Seeks To Encourage Staff Vaccination