ACLU Solicits Amazon Complaints in Seattle Ads

By Mario Trujillo, The Hill

24 August 15

he American Civil Liberties Union is reaching out to Amazon employees who believe they were unlawfully penalized by the company for having children, caring for a sick relative or falling ill. 

The civil liberties group spent $30,000 on a full page ad in The Seattle Times last week and digital ads on tech sites to publicize the message, according to reports. Amazon is based in Seattle.  

The ACLU said the responsibility of raising children or caring for a sick relative disproportionately falls on women in the United States and asked workers to contact the group at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

“Amazon employees who believe they were unlawfully penalized because of their decision to have children, or because they were caring for a sick relative or recovering from an illness of their own can contact us,” a portion of the ad reads. 

The advertisement is a response to a long New York Times article earlier this month that painted a picture of a company that pushes its employees to the limits and quickly churns through them in order to find and retain top talent. 

It featured specific stories from former Amazon workers who felt they were unfairly evaluated or pushed out due to personal crises such as cancer or a miscarriage. It describes people considering quitting because they felt pressure to spend less time with their families as well.

“The article doesn’t describe the Amazon I know or the caring Amazonians I work with every day. But if you know of any stories like those reported, I want you to escalate to HR. You can also email me directly,” Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos told his employees in response to the article. 

The ACLU said Bezos's response was a “welcome first step, but it is not enough.” Executive Director Anthony Romero told The Seattle Times that the group had already received responses to the ad last Friday.