Judge rules Amazon must reinstate fired warehouse worker

Unlawful dismissal: A file picture showing people arriving for work at the Amazon distribution centre in New York. The company is required to offer Bryson his job back, as well as lost wages and benefits resulting from his ‘discriminatory discharge.’ — AP

NEW YORK: A judge has ruled that Amazon must reinstate a former warehouse employee who was fired in the early days of the pandemic, saying the company “unlawfully” terminated the worker who led a protest calling for Amazon to do more to protect employees against Covid-19.

The dispute involving Gerald Bryson, who worked at an Amazon warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island, has stretched on since June 2020, when Bryson filed an unfair labour practice complaint with the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB), claiming Amazon retaliated against him.Later that year, the NLRB said it found merit in Bryson’s complaint that Amazon illegally fired him for workplace organising.