Laura Danbom, a marketing and operations manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Seattle, has accused senior executive Michelangelo Simonte of sexually assaulting her during a work-related trip in October 2023.
An Amazon employee has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that a senior executive raped her during a business trip to New York City and that the e-commerce giant subsequently failed to properly investigate her complaint, according to a report by The New York Post .
The lawsuit claims Amazon subjected her to a hostile work environment and violated Washington State’s Silenced No More Act by allegedly discouraging her from speaking about the incident.
In her lawsuit, Ms Danbom alleges that Amazon subjected her to a hostile work environment and violated Washington state’s Silenced No More Act, which restricts employers from preventing workers from discussing certain instances of workplace discrimination, harassment and sexual assault. The group attended an Amazon-hosted event featuring an open bar before visiting karaoke bars later that evening. The lawsuit states that police interviewed Ms Danbom a few days after the alleged incident and that she provided a condom containing DNA evidence. Ms Danbom alleges that Amazon failed to conduct a thorough investigation into her allegations and did not adequately address her concerns about workplace safety. The allegations have been made in a civil lawsuit and have not been established in court.
The activities were paid for by the company, according to the lawsuit filed in a Seattle state court. However, investigators did not obtain a DNA sample from Mr Simonte for comparison, according to the complaint.
