Three Amazon staffers sued the company in federal court on Nov. 20, alleging the company’s compensation system “resulted in the disproportionate underpayment of women as compared to their similarly-situated male counterparts.” Amazon’s employment policies and practices, “even when facially neutral, had an adverse impact on women,” the complaint stated.

The employees suing Amazon are seeking to represent a class of women who worked at the company up to three years before an initial complaint was filed. This is the first equal pay class-action lawsuit filed against Amazon, attorneys with Outten & Golden, the law firm representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

Plaintiffs allege Amazon management not only discriminated against women by paying them less than comparable male employees, resulting in pay inequities, but also retaliated against them when they reported their concerns to HR. The complaint alleges the retail giant violated equal pay laws in both Washington State and at the federal level, as well as family and medical leave acts at both levels.

In light of cases like this, HR pros should pay careful attention to ensure their compensation systems are not discriminatory, and correct for gender-based pay inequities when they are discovered, legal and HR experts say.

Lawsuit alleges gender discrimination, retaliation. The lawsuit details the experiences of Caroline Wilmuth, Katherine Schomer, and Erin Combs, who all work on Amazon’s research and strategy team. The women were all disadvantaged by the company’s compensation policies and practices, the complaint alleges.

Wilmuth, for example, was hired to perform a research scientist role, but was not classified in a research job category, the complaint says. She was also hired at an L7 level, whereas a male colleague with less education and experience was hired at an L8 level, it alleges. As a result of this “misclassification,” Amazon underpaid Wilmuth by hundreds of thousands of dollars, the lawsuit alleges. The complaint illustrates the alleged pay disparities by pointing out one of Wilmuth’s direct male reports was paid a $590,000 salary between June and December 2022, while she earned approximately $400,000 as his manager.

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