NLRB says Amazon illegally fired a warehouse worker protesting safety conditions in March
Mary Meisenzahl
Dec 17, 2020

Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

The NLRB found merit in a claim that Amazon retaliated against an employee who protested safety conditions, the agency told Business Insider.

Gerald Bryson led a protest in April over working conditions.

At the time, Amazon said Bryson was fired for bullying other employees.

An investigation by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found merit in the case that Amazon illegally fired a warehouse worker for organizing other employees around COVID-19 safety concerns, the agency confirmed to Business Insider on Thursday.

The worker, Gerald Bryson, worked at a Staten Island Amazon fulfillment center, where he was part of a protest in March about Amazon's health and safety policies amid the pandemic, led by assistant manager Chris Smalls after a coworker tested positive for the virus.

The news was first reported by Vice's Motherboard on Thursday.

This finding doesn't mark the end of the case. Amazon can settle with Bryson, or the NLRB will move forward with bringing a case against the company.

"We look forward to sharing the facts on this case before an administrative law judge should the NLRB issue a complaint," Lisa Levandowski, an Amazon spokesperson, told Business Insider in a statement.

Smalls said Amazon fired him in retaliation, and Amazon told Business Insider that Smalls was fired violating social distancing