Former Amazon warehouse employee suing company for using medical marijuana
EDISON, NJ — A former Amazon warehouse employee in Edison is suing the company, claiming they fired him for taking medical marijuana and then worked to deny him unemployment benefits.
The employee, identified in court documents as D.J.C., said he attempted to inform Amazon and a third-party drug testing company about his status as a medical marijuana patient prior to taking the drug test but that he wasn’t given the chance to do so.
Once the failed drug test raised red flags, D.J.C. tried to show supervisors the medical marijuana card issued to him for an anxiety disorder, but was told he needed to have shown it before taking the test, the suit claims.
Amazon is accused of then telling the state D.J.C. was fired for “failing to show up for work,” preventing him from accessing unemployment benefits in a “timely manner,” the suit says.
A lawyer listed on court documents for Amazon did not immediately return news outlets’ requests for comment.
D.J.C. was first hired at the Edison warehouse on Route 27 in November 2017. Up until the July 2018 drug test, D.J.C. was a good employee, the suit says; he was never disciplined and was given additional assignments as a “process guide” and an Amazon ambassador.