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. 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.

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.

According to the NY Post, the alleged incident occurred on October 27, 2023, when Ms Danbom travelled to New York with several colleagues, including Mr Simonte, an advertising executive based in Madrid.

The group attended an Amazon-hosted event featuring an open bar before visiting karaoke bars later that evening. The activities were paid for by the company, according to the lawsuit filed in a Seattle state court.

The Seattle Times reported that Ms Danbom and her legal representatives at Bloom Law PLLC accused Amazon of attempting to silence her after she reported the alleged assault.

According to the complaint, the company placed her in an “impossible choice”, requiring her to refrain from discussing the allegations at work while continuing professional interactions with the executive she had accused.

“When an employer tells an employee that they must remain quiet about a rape in the workplace, that sends a signal to the employee that if they don’t do so, they’ll be fired,” Jay Free, an attorney representing Ms Danbom, told The Seattle Times.

Mr Free also alleged that Amazon failed to consider crucial evidence during its handling of the complaint.

The lawsuit states that police interviewed Ms Danbom a few days after the alleged incident and that she provided a condom containing DNA evidence. However, investigators did not obtain a DNA sample from Mr Simonte for comparison, according to the complaint.

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.