RantCrush Top 5: April 28, 2017

Last August, Uber engineer Joseph Thomas committed suicide. Now, his widow, Zecole Thomas, blames the company. Thomas reportedly told his family that he felt an incredible amount of pressure at work and was constantly scared of being fired. He told his psychiatrist that he was having panic attacks, trouble concentrating, and almost constant anxiety. His wife said that during his time at Uber, his personality completely changed and he became an insecure person who only talked about work. He’d also say things like, “My boss doesn’t like me.” In a chat with a friend, he wrote, “The sad thing is this place [Uber] has broken me to the point where I don’t have the strength to look for another job.”

On this is absolutely heartbreaking. https://t.co/T4ROHrbR90

— Anil Dash (@anildash) April 25, 2017

Now Zecole has filed a workers’ compensation claim seeking to hold Uber accountable for her husband’s mental decline, as she didn’t receive any benefits from the company when he died. She has also accused Uber of racism, which could have contributed to her husband’s mental stress. Uber employs very few black people–only one percent of its tech workers and none of its tech leaders are black. So far, Uber hasn’t said anything about the lawsuit, but it noted that Thomas never complained to the company about racism or stress.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.