Amazon Engineers File Civil Rights Complaint Over AI Testimony

Three software engineers at Amazon Inc.—Patrick Schloesser, Darius Irani, and Liesel Wigand—filed a joint complaint with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights after the company launched internal investigations into their conduct. The employees, who are members of the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice collective, testified at Seattle City Council meetings earlier this month to advocate for the regulation of AI data centers. Following this testimony, the council passed a unanimous moratorium on new data center construction on June 9.

The workers allege that Amazon is illegally retaliating against them for their political beliefs and attempting to silence advocacy regarding the environmental and social impacts of AI infrastructure. They maintain that they spoke as private citizens rather than company representatives.

Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan stated the company is investigating whether the employees violated internal policies by representing themselves as company spokespeople without authorization. While the company is reviewing the situation to ensure consistent policy application, Callahan disputed allegations that the workers were threatened with termination.