Woman takes on Amazon after being fired from Chicago area warehouse, sues after runaround over back pay
MATTESON, Ill. (CBS) -- A fascinating battle brewing in Chicago's south suburbs pits Amazon—a $2 trillion corporation—against an employee of the company who makes about $20 an hour.
So far, the employee, Jillian Desyatnyk, has won the first couple of rounds.
Amazon has huge facilities everywhere, with packages constantly moving. One is in south suburban Matteson, and Desyatnyk had been one of the many workers who ensured everyone's order got delivered—until September 2023.
"It was really bad," Desyatnyk said. "It messed my whole world up."
Desyatnyk said Amazon fired her for wearing headphones at work—despite having an Amazon-approved accommodation allowing for them because of a disability.
"It improves, you know, my performance," she said. "I get back on task quicker."
Desyatnyk said she hit rock bottom—unable even to get out of bed many days.
"To get crushed this way was a slap in the face," she said.
But them, someone advised Desyatnyk to fight back—and send a certified letter to Amazon chief executive officer Andy Jassy and senior vice president David Zapolski.
The letter detailed Desyatnyk's termination and how she believed it was unfair.
"And to my surprise, it worked," Desyatnyk said.
It worked by triggering a full investigation.
"Everything that I alleged, I had a paper trail," Desyatnyk said.
Desyatnyk had several basic claims. She claimed she was wrongfully terminated, and expressed concerns about management behavior, defects in the appeals process, and lack of communication.
These claims were all confirmed by Amazon.
The result, Desyatnyk said, was that she was reinstated to work. Desyatnyk headed back to the Amazon facility in Desyatnyk last December—and Amazon has even publicly complimented her as "one of the hardest-working people in stow."
Desyatnyk gets her job back, but says Amazon has shortchanged her in back pay
Amazon also paid Desyatnyk more than $10,000 in back pay for the months she was not allowed to work.
But she said the company shortchanged her.
"There was several email exchanges," she said.
Desyatnyk shared those emails with an Amazon senior human resources manager. They dragged on from last December until April 2024—on 30 separate days in that time period.
This, again, was all about giant Amazon reimbursing an hourly worker for back pay after it wrongfully terminated her.
"He kept saying that he was going to take care of it," Desyatnyk said.
On Jan. 19 of this year, the human resources manager claimed to be "actively tracking [Desyatnyk's] tickets." On Feb. 14, the HR manager wrote to Desyatnyk, "I truly appreciate your patience."
On March 15, HR wrote, "I was under the impression this was resolved and paid."
On April 15, HR wrote, "Still working with the correct teams to finalize your pay."
Desyatnyk said she is owed a balance of $1,7000—and has been getting the runaround for months over it.
Now, Desyatnyk and her paper trail have moved the battle to a new venue—U.S. District Court. She is seeking $300,000 for all the hassles she has endured.
"It's like David versus Goliath," said CBS News Chicago Legal Analyst Irv Miller.
Miller said judges inside the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago may be sympathetic to her plight.
"They try to help David if they can," Miller said. "If the person has the facts and the law on their side, the judge is going to rule for them—no matter who is on the other side."
As for Desyatnyk, she still goes to work at the Amazon warehouse in Matteson every day. Meanwhile, she still hopes for one other thing.
"I've always wanted an apology," she said. "That means more than money, actually—a genuine apology."
In a statement, Amazon said, "When we make mistakes, we work to make things right as soon as possible." The company added that Desyatnyk had been reinstated with back pay.
CBS News Chicago pressed for answers about exactly what mistakes were made, the original firing itself, and the monthslong fight for pay. But Amazon never responded to clarify.
