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Mercedes Wedaa, former housekeeper of Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, has filed a lawsuit against him and two companies responsible for managing his properties. The lawsuit, filed in Seattle in November 2022, alleges that she and other employees worked in unsafe and unsanitary conditions for extended 14-hour shifts without breaks. According to Wedaa, she was hired in 2019 with the requirement that she “work unseen around a family.”
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A major issue raised in the lawsuit is the lack of easily accessible bathrooms for housekeeping staff. While the Bezos family was at home, the housekeepers were only allowed to enter the home for cleaning purposes. Accessing a bathroom directly from the laundry door was not an option as it led to the family’s living area. To reach a toilet, housekeepers had to climb out of the laundry room window, walk along a path to a mechanical room, and go downstairs to a bathroom. This arrangement lasted for about 18 months and led to frequent urinary tract infections among staff due to limited toilet access, Wedaa claims.
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Other Wedaa complaints include the lack of rest areas for housekeepers, meals taken in washrooms and the discriminatory treatment of Spanish workers. She also claims to have raised concerns about the employment of undocumented workers, lack of rest breaks and unsafe working conditions. Following these complaints, Wedaa said she was demoted and subsequently fired because she seemed “unhappy” and negatively affected the team’s morale. She is seeking return of wages, benefits and an unspecified amount of damages.
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Bezos’ lawyer Harry Korrell refutes these claims, labeling them as meritless and absurd. Korrell notes that Wedaa was a head housekeeper who earned a six-figure salary and had control over her break and meal times. He claims there were multiple bathrooms and break rooms available for staff. In addition, he said Wedaa filed the lawsuit after her demand for a $9 million settlement was rejected, and he maintained she was fired for performance reasons.
Patrick McGuigan, Wedaa’s lawyer, is representing his client as “very credible person” with “compelling evidence” to support her allegations. The lawsuit claims that housekeepers were initially allowed to use a restroom in a security room, but this was later revoked because it was a “violation of security protocol.”
A source from one of the managing companies named in the lawsuit, Northwestern LLC, claims that staff had access to break rooms with seating, tables, stocked refrigerators, a coffee maker and snacks. They added that several bathrooms were available near the break rooms and that when the family was not in the home, staff could also use the family kitchen and other amenities.
Amid these competing narratives, Wedaa’s lawsuit also alleges that she and other Hispanic domestic workers were treated differently than their white counterparts, adding another layer of complexity to a case already fraught with sensitive issues. Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, is Mexican-American, and Korrell says the suggestion of racial discrimination against Wedaa is “absurd.”
The lawsuit is still pending and the amount of damages Wedaa is seeking will be determined during the lawsuit. Bezos is the third richest man in the world with a net worth of $153 billion, according to Forbes.
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This article Jeff Bezos’ former housekeeper sued him, claiming 14-hour shifts and lack of bathroom access led to frequent urinary tract infections; Claims she was only allowed to eat in the washroom and faced racial discrimination – hired to work without being seen by family originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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