Three Amazon software engineers say the company is retaliating against them for backing data-center regulation before the Seattle City Council, and have filed a civil-rights complaint over it. All three, members of Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, testified this month, and a day after the council passed a 12-month ban on big new data centers, each was pulled into an HR meeting and told they were under investigation, with firing on the table. Their complaint asks the Seattle Office for Civil Rights to investigate, alleging Amazon broke a city law barring punishment of employees for political speech. Amazon disputes the account, saying it is only checking a possible breach of its policy against speaking for the company without approval, that it doesn't tolerate retaliation, and that it never warned the three they could be fired.
