Amazon said it was investigating the allegations in the case. “Amazon works hard to promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture, and these claims do not reflect our efforts or values,” a spokesman said. “We do not tolerate any discrimination or harassment of any kind and investigate all claims thoroughly and take appropriate action.”
In her complaint, Charlotte Newman, a 38-year-old black woman living 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 is a practice that Newman suggests is routine.
“Many of Newman’s colleagues have observed a consistent practice of paying black employees less than similar white employees, and an almost total lack of black representation in and very few women in the top leadership of the group,” Newman said. ‘s lawyers wrote. the complaint, which was filed in federal court in Washington, DC.
The complaint also accuses the company of “withdrawing” black employees when they were hired – “dropping a level below the work for which they applied and for which they qualified or will perform.”
In the lawsuit, Newman says she waited nearly three years to be promoted to the more senior level for which she originally applied “despite giving the work of employees at the higher … level.” She also says she was sexually assaulted 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 had been terminated.
Newman’s attorney, Douglas H. Wigdor, said it was too early to determine damages, but that the claim would amount to the ‘millions of dollars’. He said Newman decided to continue working at Amazon despite how she was allegedly treated.
“She’s going to try to make change from within, that’s why she’s so brave,” Wigdor said.
Amazon told Recode the company disagrees with the characterization of Amazon’s culture, claiming that the facts presented are “based on the views of a small number of individuals.”
“Teams across Amazon have hired hundreds of thousands of black employees and thousands of black executives, and our conservation data and employee surveys illustrate that they have a similar reduction rate and greater job satisfaction and feelings of inclusion than their non-black counterparts,” Amazon said. Recode. “We realize that we need to do work, including increasing black representation at all levels, and we have set aggressive goals – and achieved them – to double the representation of black vice-presidents and directors by 2020 and are committed to 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 $ 15.30 per hour. , including full health care, vision and dental insurance, 50% 401 (K) corresponds to the first day of work; in safe, innovative, inclusive environments, with training, continuing education and long-term career growth. “