When Washington State fought back against the Trump Administration’s attacks on immigrants and refugees from the Middle East, Amazon lent their voice and their resources to the cause. The company moved quickly to craft a legal declaration that was pivotal in the courtroom victory by Washington’s Attorney General.
We applaud the company for stepping up and doing the right thing. Amazon took action to make our airports a welcoming place for immigrant workers, their families, their co-workers, and their communities. Not every company would do that. (In fact, many didn’t.)
Now we ask that Amazon deliver on immigrant rights and religious freedom in the company’s own offices, too.
Essag Hassan and Ismahan Ismail both worked at Amazon’s South Lake Union headquarters — the same buildings as the people who joined the legal case that won the day in court.
But their own right to practice their religion is not being respected.
Essag works security at Amazon.
He had a spotless work record. But after he requested prayer space to use on his work breaks, Amazon security contractor SIS put him under a secret "investigation." He wasn’t given an explanation, and then he was terminated.
Ismahan served in the U.S. Armed Forces and now works security at Amazon.
She went through all the proper channels to request accommodations so she could fulfill her religious obligations, but she didn’t get anywhere. "My manager still had problems with me praying on breaks. I had my prayer materials moved and stepped on. And I couldn’t get anything resolved." She has filed an EEOC complaint.