Former Instacart employee says she was fired over her Democratic congressional campaign

A erstwhile Instacart worker moving for Congress alleges successful a suit that the institution fired her retired of interest that her Democratic governmental views could pb to backlash from the Trump administration.

Elizabeth Vedernikova Khanna, a campaigner for Virginia's 1st Congressional District, worked arsenic main of unit to Instacart's main firm affairs serviceman since aboriginal 2023 and was terminated successful June, according to the suit filed Sunday successful San Francisco Superior Court.

Khanna, who goes by Lisa, accuses the market transportation elephantine of reversing its archetypal support for her legislature bid aft reviewing a transcript of her run website's argumentation positions, "specifically enactment for termination rights and weapon control."

Instacart abruptly determined "that the imaginable hazard of Republican backlash to the institution outweighed Ms. Khanna's close to tally for nationalist office," alleges the lawsuit, which was archetypal reported by The Washington Post earlier Monday.

Hours aft that reappraisal took place, the San Francisco-based institution "prohibited Ms. Khanna from moving for Congress portion keeping her job, ostensibly enforcing institution rules and policies," according to the suit.

"Less than 2 weeks aboriginal it terminated her due to the fact that of her stated argumentation positions," Khanna's attorneys allege.

An Instacart spokesperson, successful an emailed connection to CNBC, said, "Khanna's assertion that her separation from Instacart was someway politically motivated is level retired false."

"As portion of our Conflicts of Interest argumentation assessment, we determined it would beryllium intolerable for Lisa to fulfill the demands of her relation arsenic the Chief of Staff to our Chief Corporate Affairs Officer – who runs our argumentation & authorities affairs and connection teams – portion simultaneously moving a 17-month national run for Congress," the spokesperson said.

"Her governmental beliefs had perfectly thing to bash with this decision," the spokesperson said, adding that the institution "repeatedly supported her civic involvement" by "approving a fig of anterior requests for public-facing governmental enactment roles that were acold little clip intensive."

Instacart offered Khanna "a permission of lack oregon a paid, hourly consulting statement during her campaign," but she "rejected some offers, and alternatively demanded that we wage her $5 cardinal — much than 20x her yearly salary," the spokesperson alleged.

Khanna's lawyers, meanwhile, accidental Instacart's actions are of a portion with however firm America has sought to enactment successful the national government's bully graces since President Donald Trump returned to office.

"There has been a well-documented inclination of almighty corporations bending implicit backwards to curry favour with the Trump Administration," her lawyers said successful a statement connected the lawsuit.

The suit itself says that then-CEO Fidji Simo took "several actions to fortify Instacart's and her narration with the Trump Administration" aft the 2024 election. Those actions included sending a congratulatory acquisition to Ivanka Trump and having the institution donate $100,000 to Trump's inaugural fund, portion seeking meetings with high-level medication associates, according to the lawsuit.

Khanna accuses Instacart of violating rules against blocking employee's governmental activities, and of wrongfully firing her "in usurpation of the cardinal nationalist argumentation of the State of California."

She is asking for a assemblage proceedings and seeks some punitive and compensatory damages, "including affectional distress damages and economical damages."

She is besides asking a justice to bid Instacart to "provide mandatory and meaningful grooming to each executives, managers, and employees regarding the laws prohibiting interference with and retaliation against employees for their governmental actions and governmental activities."