MATTESON, Ill. (CBS) — A fascinating battle in Chicago’s south suburbs pits Amazon — a $2 trillion company — against a company employee who makes about $20 an hour.
So far, the contributor, Jillian Desyatnyk, has won the first few rounds.
Amazon has huge facilities everywhere, with packages constantly moving. One is in the southern suburb of Matteson, and Desyatnyk was one of many workers who made sure everyone’s order was delivered — until September 2023.
“It was really bad,” Desyatnyk said. “It ruined my whole world.”
Desyatnyk said Amazon fired her for wearing headphones at work, despite having an Amazon-approved accommodation that allowed her to do so due to a disability.
“It improves, you know, my performance,” she said. “I’ll get back to work sooner.”
Desyatnyk said she hit rock bottom and couldn’t even get out of bed for days.
“To be crushed like this was a slap in the face,” she said.
But someone advised Desyatnyk to fight back — and send a certified letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and senior vice president David Zapolski.
The letter detailed how Desyatnyk was fired and how she felt it was unfair.
“And to my surprise, it worked,” Desyatnyk said.
It worked by initiating a full investigation.
“Everything I claimed, I had on paper,” Desyatnyk said.
Desyatnyk had several fundamental claims. She claimed she had been unfairly dismissed and raised concerns about management’s conduct, flaws in the appeals process and a lack of communication.
These claims were all confirmed by Amazon.
The result, Desyatnyk said, was that she was able to return to work. Desyatnyk returned to Amazon’s Desyatnyk factory last December — and Amazon even publicly complimented her as “one of the hardest working people on the stack.”
Desyatnyk gets her job back, but says Amazon shortchanged her back wages
Amazon also paid Desyatnyk more than $10,000 in back payments for the months she was not allowed to work.
But she said the company shortchanged her.
“There were several email exchanges,” she said.
Desyatnyk shared those emails with a senior Amazon HR manager. They dragged on from December last year to April 2024 – on thirty separate days in that period.
Once again, this was all about giant Amazon reimbursing an hourly worker for back wages after it wrongfully fired her.
“He kept saying he would take care of it,” Desyatnyk said.
On January 19 this year, the HR manager claimed he was “actively following”. [Desyatnyk’s] tickets.” On February 14, the HR manager wrote to Desyatnyk: “I really appreciate your patience.”
On March 15, HR wrote: “I was under the impression that this had been resolved and paid for.”
On April 15, HR wrote: “We are still working with the appropriate teams to finalize your payroll.”
Desyatnyk said she owes a balance of $1,7,000 — and has been struggling with it for months.
Now Desyatnyk and her paper trail have moved the fight to a new venue: the US court system. She demands $300,000 for all the trouble she has endured.
“It’s like David versus Goliath,” said CBS News Chicago legal analyst Irv Miller.
Miller said judges at 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 his side, the judge will decide for him, regardless of who is on the other side.”
As for Desyatnyk, she still goes to work every day at the Amazon warehouse in Matteson. In the meantime, she’s still hoping for something else.
“I’ve always wanted an apology,” she said. “That actually means more than money: a sincere apology.”
In a statement, Amazon said: “When we make mistakes, we work to make things right as quickly 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 months-long battle over pay. But Amazon never responded to clarify.
Megan Hickey
