Jeff Bezos' former housekeeper is suing the Amazon founder for workplace discrimination that she says forced her to literally climb out out the window of his house to use the bathroom.
In the suit, filed this week in a Washington state court, the former housekeeper claimed that she and Bezos' other household staff were not provided with legally-mandated eating or restroom breaks, and that because there was no "readily accessible bathroom" for them to use, they had to clamber out a laundry room window to get to one.
In the complaint, lawyers for the ex-housekeeper, who is described as having worked for wealthy families for nearly 20 years, wrote that household staff were initially allowed to use a small bathroom in the security room of Bezos' main house, but "this soon stopped... because it was decided that housekeepers using the bathroom was a breach of security protocol."
The suit also alleges that housekeepers in the billionaire's employ "frequently developed Urinary Tract Infections" that they believed was related to not being able to use the bathroom when they needed to at work.
"There was no breakroom for the housekeepers," the complaint adds. "Even though Plaintiff worked 10, 12, and sometimes 14 hours a day, there was no designated area for her to sit down and rest."
The housekeeper — who, like almost all of her coworkers, is Latino — was allegedly not aware that she was entitled to breaks for lunch or rest, and was only able to have a lunch break when Bezos or his family were not on the premises, the lawsuit alleges.
The Washington Post owner has denied his former housekeeper's claims of discrimination through an attorney.
"We have investigated the claims, and they lack merit," Harry Korrell, a Bezos attorney, told Insider of the suit. "[The former employee] made over six figures annually and was the lead housekeeper."
He added that the former housekeeper "was responsible for her own break and meal times, and there were several bathrooms and breakrooms available to her and other staff."
"The evidence will show that [the former housekeeper] was terminated for performance reasons," he continued. "She initially demanded over $9M, and when the company refused, she decided to file this suit."
As the suit was just filed and may well end in a settlement, it'll likely be a long time, if ever, before we find out what really happened at Bezos' house — but if we do, it'll be a fascinating peek behind the curtain at the home life of one of the world's most powerful and wealthy men.
More on billionaires: Tesla Morale Low As Workers Still Don't Have Desks, Face Increased Attendance Surveillance
The post Jeff Bezos' Housekeeper Says She Had to Climb Out the Window to Use the Bathroom appeared first on Futurism.
Excerpt from:
Jeff Bezos' Housekeeper Says She Had to Climb Out the Window to Use the Bathroom
- If Brevity is the Soul of Wit ... - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- Gang Brutality Caught on Tape - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Kim Jong Tweet - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Fuck Marching - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Monopoly Money - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Mexican Gang War: Both Sides are Cops - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Fruits of Democracy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- MSM Pwned by Amateurs - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- War on Drugs: Collateral Damage - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Goldman Sachs: Ruler of the Universe - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Sam Dodson Talks to MotorHome Diaries - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- When God and Government Mix - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Mike Gogulski PWNS Social Security - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Stefan Molyneux Interviews Jan Helfeld - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Commander in Chief: Council on Foreign Relations - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Canadian Healthcare Extravaganza - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- My Reply to an Essay on China, the US, and Yu Wan Mei - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Iraq War: A Biblical Event - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Crazy Facts from GovernmentLand - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Remember 9-11 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Then Again... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Hillary Clinton Devestates Pakistan - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Jan Helfeld and Elliot Engel - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Report on attacks against Michael Jude Gogulski 5 September 2009 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- They Are Selling You - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Happy Guy Fawkes Day - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Emergency Aid to Seniors? No Way - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Public Option is the Decoy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Should Insider Trading be Illegal? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Reefer Non-Madness - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- U.S. Legalizes Medical Marijuana - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Fiddling While Rome Burns - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Massachusetts Should Lower, Not Raise, the Dropout Age - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- No Limits on Executive Compensation - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Execs Quit to Avoid Pay Limits - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Krugman on China and the Dollar - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Obama's Climate Speech at MIT - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Fed and Policy Uncertainty - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Civil Union versus Civil Marriage - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Medicare Shuns Seniors - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Financial Market Reform - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- All You Need to Know ... - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- No Government Health Insurance - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cap and Trade Will not Reduce Emissions - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cartoon Commentary - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Did the Stimulus Work? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Letting the Sick Die on the Street - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Renewed Hope for Gridlock? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- An Opportunity for Libertarians? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Not-so-Temporary Stimulus - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Sausages in Financial Reform - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Dumb Cops, Dumb Laws, Unnecessary Victims - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Fighting Terrorism in Berkeley - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Obama's Home Teleprompter Malfunctions During Family Dinner - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- School Lunch FAIL - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Insane Mortgage Policy - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Comments Welcome - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Obamanomics: Growing the Pie or Dividing the Pie? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Right Meets Left on Criminal Justice - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Is Nuclear the Answer to Global Warming? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Franksgiving: Another Flawed Stimulus - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Dollars for Dishwashers - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Politics of Cap and Trade - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- A College for Cannabis - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- George Will, Medical Marijuana, and Legalization - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Bernanke on the Fed - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- A Debate About Mexico's Drug Wars - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Doublespeak - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Tobacco Prohibition, Bit by Bit - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The U.S. in the Middle East: A Prediction - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Gay Marriage or Civil Union: Would Less be More? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Whither the Estate Tax - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Late-Term Abortions in Nebraska - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Why Climate Negotations Are a Waste of Time - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- "Mild" Gun Control Laws - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Did the Iraq Surge Really Work? - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Driver's Ed at Age 52 - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Ginnie Mae, Ticking Time Bomb - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Toddler Terrorism - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Policy Insight from David Letterman - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]