ACLU is looking for mistreated Amazon employees

In The Seattle Times Friday edition, the ACLU placed a whole page ad looking for current and former Amazon employees who believe they were mistreated during their employment .

The ACLU decided to run the ad after a New York Times article described the unpleasant conditions of the lives of employees of Amazon.

The ACLU is concerned that employees who were treated unfairly such as those who were not given the time to recover during an illness, for example, were mostly women. The article also mentioned that most of the employees in the leadership team are male, as with most of their workforce.

ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said that despite Amazon being a big business, it still has to follow some rules regarding the treatment of their employees and the NY Times article made the ACLU puzzled.

The ad posted by the ACLU on the Seattle Times is asking anyone who feels they have been mistreated by Amazon. Although the company has a proven track record, Romero mentioned that he also has heard about stories and information that employees are experiencing ruthless work conditions.

The ad posting of the ACLU is not the first reaction to the NYT article. Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO, invited employees who feel mistreated to coordinate with their human resources department. He also said that the expose about his company is not representative of the company's traditions.

However, the ACLU is not really trying to attack Amazon and its culture. Romero acknowledges that employers can be harsh but still not violate laws. But workers are rightfully entitled to certain rights, regardless of their level of employment.

Romero said that ACLU has already received responses and to those who are planning to contact them regarding the matter, they can contact GenderEqualityAmazon@aclu.org before October 1 of this year to see if there is the possibility of making legal actions.