Amazon said it is investigating the allegations in the lawsuit. “Amazon works hard to promote a diverse, fair and inclusive culture, and these claims do not reflect these efforts or our values,” said a spokesman. “We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind and we thoroughly investigate all complaints and take appropriate action.”
In her complaint, Charlotte Newman, a 38-year-old black woman who lives in Washington DC, said Amazon Web Services hired her four years ago to work as a public policy manager although she applied and said she was qualified to work as a senior manager at a higher level, a practice that Newman suggests is routine.
“Many of Ms. Newman’s colleagues have observed a consistent practice of paying black employees less than white employees in a similar situation, and an almost total lack of black representation and very few women in the upper echelons of the group’s leadership,” wrote the Newman’s lawyers in the complaint, filed in federal court in Washington, DC.
The complaint also accuses the company of “demoting” black employees when they are hired – “lowering them to a level below the position for which they have applied and for which they have been qualified or will perform”.
In the process, Newman says she waited nearly three years to be promoted to the highest level to which she originally applied, “despite the fact that she received and did the work of … higher-level officials”. She also said she was sexually abused and harassed by a senior male employee before filing a written complaint about the alleged incident last June.
The complaint indicated that the senior male employee was fired.
Newman’s lawyer, Douglas H. Wigdor, said it was too early to determine the damage, but that the action would be in the order of “millions of dollars”. He said Newman decided to continue working at Amazon, despite how it would have been treated.
“She will try to make the change from the inside, which is why she is so brave,” said Wigdor.
Amazon told Recode that the company disagrees with the characterization of Amazon’s culture in history, claiming that the facts presented were “based on the opinions of a small number of individuals”.
“Teams across Amazon hired hundreds of thousands of black employees and thousands of black managers, and our employee retention data and surveys illustrate that they have similar attrition rates and higher job satisfaction and feelings of inclusion than their non-colleagues. black people, “said Amazon Recode. “We recognize that we have work to do, including increasing black representation at all levels, and we have set – and achieved – aggressive goals of doubling the representation of black vice presidents and directors in 2020 and we pledge to do it again in 2021. . “
Regarding the union effort, Amazon spokeswoman Heather Knox told CNN Business in January that “we opened this site in March and have since created more than 5,000 full-time jobs in Bessemer, with an average salary of US $ 15.30 per hour, including comprehensive health, vision and dental insurance, 50% 401 (K) compatible from the first day of work; in safe, innovative and inclusive environments, with training, continuing education and long-term career growth . “