Charlotte Newman, an Amazon manager, sued the giant company over the appointment of races and accused several managers of abusive behavior and sexual harassment.
In the extensive lawsuit filed Monday in Washington (DC) District Court (read it here), Newman, a former assistant to Senator Cory Booker, claims the company hired her for a job that did not match her experience. to pay. her less, a practice called ‘de-leveling’ which she says is common for black drivers. She did work above her degree, she says, and was passed on for promotions given to less qualified white male candidates. She claims the treatment made her appear vulnerable and was a target for harassment by other drivers.
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Newman has been with Amazon for four years and is currently head of the under-represented founder Startup Business Development at Amazon Web Services. She was previously head of public policy for financial services, America at AWS. She is claiming monetary and punitive damages in a case cited by Amazon.com, Amazon Web Services and three individuals, one of whom is no longer working for the company following Newman’s internal complaints of harassment and assault.
In a statement Monday, Amazon said it was “working hard to promote a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture, and these allegations do not reflect our efforts or values. We do not tolerate any discrimination or harassment of any kind and investigate all “We are currently investigating and taking appropriate action. We are currently investigating the new allegations included in this lawsuit.”
Newman is represented by Douglas Wigdor, who represents six of the women who accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse.
The case seeks to paint a broad picture of racial discrimination and insensitivity at Amazon. These include the alleged efforts to end the union by predominantly black warehouse workers and a lack of diversity at management and board level that includes verbal commitments to social justice, including founder Jeff Bezos and new CEO Andy Jassy .
In December, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ordered Amazon to continue its first union vote in six years, which is currently underway in a warehouse facility in Bessemer, Alabama. The NLRB also found in December that Amazon had illegally terminated an employee of the Staten Island Warehouse after leading protests over unsafe conditions and organizing efforts last year.
Earlier this month, Amazon sued New York Attorney General Letitia James in an attempt to prevent her from bringing complaints against the company regarding security in two of its warehouses in New York.