A former Amazon warehouse worker has sued the internet retail giant, claiming he was fired in retaliation for seeking bereavement leave after both of his parents died less than a week apart.
In the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Kern County, California, 53-year-old Scott Brock accused Amazon of wrongfully firing him from his job at the Bakersfield fulfillment center in early February.
Brock told DailyMail.com in a phone interview that he was stunned to be fired, after he says Amazon rejected his request for bereavement leave when his parents, both in their 80s, died six days apart from natural causes.
‘I was shocked, just shocked,’ said Brock. ‘They were more concerned about numbers than they are about people…it’s not right.’
Brock’s attorney, Ronald L. Zambrano of West Coast Trial Lawyers, concurred, telling DailyMail.com: ‘It’s just heartless.’
Former Amazon worker Scott Brock (left) says in a lawsuit that Amazon wrongfully fired him after he requested bereavement leave when his parents Curtis ‘Harold’ Brock and Mary Brock (right) died within six days of each other in late January
Amazon spokesperson Alisa Carroll denied the allegations in a statement to DailyMail.com, saying: ‘While we’re very sorry for the loss of Mr. Brock’s parents, that’s unrelated to why he’s no longer working at Amazon.’
‘Mr. Brock’s employment was terminated after an investigation found that he threatened a coworker and violated Amazon’s policies against workplace violence,’ the statement added.
Brock’s attorney Zambrano disputed that account, saying the workplace issue in question was ‘well before’ Brock’s parents died, accusing of Amazon of using it as a ‘pretext’ in his firing.
‘Amazon, based on their own conduct, seems to care more about efficiency and the bottom line versus reacting to real life,’ the attorney said. ‘If somebody’s saying, “my parents are dying,” let them take some time off, then let them come back to work. Don’t punish them for it.’
Brock said his parents had both suffered from congestive heart failure and other medical issues, and that the couple seemed to go into a downward health spiral together in their final days, after more than six decades of happy marriage.
His father, 87-year old Harold, was a Navy veteran who served as a mechanical specialist in aircraft carriers in the Korean War, before working as a truck driver for many years to support his wife and five children, who grew up in Bakersfield.
He officially retired in 1989, but continued driving for independent trucking companies until he was 80, and then kept working as a crossing guard, according to an obituary.
Brock’s mother Mary, who was 85, married Harold on March 18, 1958 after he returned from the Korean War, and spent 12 years working in the faculty cafeteria at Bakersfield High School.
A Texas native, she was an avid Dallas Cowboys fan — while Harold was a die-hard supporter of the San Francisco 49ers.
Mary was also a homemaker who raised Brock along with his siblings, taking them to their Little League baseball games and cheering them on as kids, Brock recalled.
‘They were the greatest,’ Brock said of his parents. ‘And this is just devastating. I mean, for both to die at the same time.’
Harold and Mary Brock are seen in a family photo. The couple, married for nearly 65 years, died just six days apart in late January after suffering heart problems and other ailments
A family photo shows Harold (center) in his Navy uniform with his parents and sisters. After the Korean War, Harold worked as a truck driver for decades, and kept working into his 80s
Brock had worked at Amazon Fulfillment Center BFL1 (above) in Bakersfield as a ‘picker’ since November 2021
On January 21, Mary was the first to die.
Brock, who had worked at Amazon Fulfillment Center BFL1 in Bakersfield as a ‘picker’ since November 2021, requested four days of bereavement leave, according to his suit.
Then on January 27, Harold also passed away, and Brock requested an additional three days of bereavement leave, according to the suit.
The lawsuit claims that Amazon’s human resources department demanded copies of his parents’ obituaries to support his request, which he provided.
But after he returned to work, Brock alleges that he was told that his request for bereavement leave had been rejected, and that he was summarily fired.
‘The last last three weeks of January were the hardest ever, and here I find out on February 3 that I’m terminated,’ he told DailyMail.com.
Brock is seeking damages in excess of $500,000, Zambrano said. The suit seeks damages for lost wages and emotional distress, as well as punitive damages.
The suit alleges violations of the California Family Rights Act, which prohibits retaliating against an employee for exercising rights protected under state law.
‘Rather than doing the moral thing, let alone their legal obligation under California law, allowing Mr. Brock time off to grieve, Amazon coldly fired him,’ said Zambrano, Brock’s attorney, in a statement. ‘This is truly despicable and illegal behavior.’
Urns with the ashes of Mary and Harold are seen during an internment ceremony on March 6 at the Bakersfield National Cemetery. Harold was a Navy veteran who served in the Korean War
Brock’s complaint is not the first time Amazon has been accused of wrongful termination and prohibited retaliation against employees.
In 2021, a woman in Santa Clara, California was awarded $300,000 at trial after a jury found she was targeted for disparate treatment in her human resources job at Amazon, according to the Orange County Register.
The court later granted $2.47 million in attorneys’ fees to Thu Nguyet Thi ‘Nicki’ Tran, who testified that supervisors were dismissive of her request for accommodation while suffering morning sickness from pregnancy.
Last April, a federal judge ordered Amazon to reinstate a former employee who was ‘unlawfully’ fired after leading a protest over COVID safety concerns at a Staten Island warehouse during the beginning of the pandemic.
An internment ceremony for Harold and Mary Brock was held on March 6 at the Bakersfield National Cemetery.
A celebration of life for the couple is planned at their longtime church, the Westside Church of Christ, on Saturday March 18, which would have been their 65th wedding anniversary.
