USA 
United Kingdom
Amazon has had a victory in court after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by a former music event producer who alleged she faced discrimination at the tech giant.
US District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan ruled that plaintiff Keesha Anderson had not demonstrated that Amazon’s performance reviews or promotion decisions were a pretext for bias. The judge said Amazon cited “legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons” for declining to promote her, including its preference for a strategist with skills Anderson did not possess.
The case gained attention because it was among the first to be filed under an April 2024 Supreme Court decision that allows workers to bring federal employment discrimination claims without proving concrete harm such as a demotion, firing, or pay reduction.
Claims weakened by deleted records
Anderson alleged she was sidelined by being excluded from meetings, stripped of duties, and eventually placed on a performance improvement plan based on “trumped up” issues. She resigned in February 2022 after two and a half years at the company, later joining Snapchat parent Snap in a higher-paid role.
Her case faltered after revelations that she had secretly recorded conversations with colleagues and supervisors, later deleting those files. Further complications arose when an alleged whistleblower cited in her complaint turned out to be her own manager, a Hispanic woman, who denied making the remarks attributed to her.
Judge Subramanian, who had previously allowed the case to proceed in May 2024, criticized the handling of evidence. While rejecting Amazon’s request for sanctions against Anderson and her attorney, he said their actions “toes the line on what constitutes sanctionable conduct” and must not be repeated.
“Putting the now-discredited allegations concerning the ‘whistleblower’ to the side,” he added, “the case paints a picture of a run-of-the-mill workplace, maybe even one with more positivity than usual.”
Employee response and legal options
Anderson’s lawyer, Jessie Djata, said in an email that her client is evaluating next steps. “We continue to believe that our client was subjected to discrimination (and) raised important concerns about fairness and equal opportunity at one of the world’s largest companies,” Djata stated.
Neither Amazon or its legal representatives have commented publicly on the ruling.
