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douglas9

(4,358 posts)
Mon Oct 25, 2021, 06:00 AM Oct 2021

Inside Amazon's Worst Human Resources Problem

A year ago, Tara Jones, an Amazon warehouse worker in Oklahoma, cradled her newborn, glanced over her pay stub on her phone and noticed that she had been underpaid by a significant chunk: $90 out of $540.

The mistake kept repeating even after she reported the issue. Ms. Jones, who had taken accounting classes at community college, grew so exasperated that she wrote an email to Jeff Bezos, the company’s founder.

“I’m behind on bills, all because the pay team messed up,” she wrote weeks later. “I’m crying as I write this email.”

Unbeknown to Ms. Jones, her message to Mr. Bezos set off an internal investigation, and a discovery: Ms. Jones was far from alone. For at least a year and a half — including during periods of record profit — Amazon had been shortchanging new parents, patients dealing with medical crises and other vulnerable workers on leave, according to a confidential report on the findings. Some of the pay calculations at her facility had been wrong since it opened its doors over a year before. As many as 179 of the companies’ other warehouses had potentially been affected, too.

Amazon is still identifying and repaying workers to this day, according to Kelly Nantel, a company spokeswoman.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/24/technology/amazon-employee-leave-errors.html




9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Inside Amazon's Worst Human Resources Problem (Original Post) douglas9 Oct 2021 OP
Error or Wage Theft Sherman A1 Oct 2021 #1
+1,000! SheltieLover Oct 2021 #2
An error is wage theft. marble falls Oct 2021 #6
It really depends upon what they do to make it right Sherman A1 Oct 2021 #7
Making it 'right' doesn't eliminate the theft. It will never be made 'whole'. marble falls Oct 2021 #8
Depends upon what they do to fix the issue Sherman A1 Oct 2021 #9
Yeah, but he's got a "cool" penis shaped rocket ship, so...N/T maxrandb Oct 2021 #3
U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division mahatmakanejeeves Oct 2021 #4
paywall. n/t CousinIT Oct 2021 #5

Sherman A1

(38,958 posts)
7. It really depends upon what they do to make it right
Mon Oct 25, 2021, 10:39 AM
Oct 2021

If all they do is repay the wages, I believe that is hardly enough. These folks have suffered and should be compensated for that suffering. If Amazon does take steps to accommodate that suffering then I would call it an error that was corrected. If all they do is pay the lost wages, then I believe it is wage theft.

Sherman A1

(38,958 posts)
9. Depends upon what they do to fix the issue
Mon Oct 25, 2021, 10:48 AM
Oct 2021

There are honest errors that occur. Happened to me at my work place a few times over the years. They were corrected the next week or in some cases the next day.

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