Running head: Preventing Hostile Work Environment 1

Preventing Hostile Work Environment

Shanta D. Wilburn

South University Online

HRM5020 – Labor Laws and Ethical Standards SU01

Instructor: Jennifer Young

June 10, 2024

Preventing Hostile Work Environment 2

Preventing Hostile Work Environment

Many people have experienced disagreements in the workplace, either with an individual

or with a group of people. While disagreements can happen and are not illegal for employers,

there are some instances that does rise to the level of workplace harassment, which is described

as hostile work environment. A hostile work environment, according to OSHA, is a “workplace

where employees are subjected to unwelcome conduct that is based on their race, color, religion,

sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information” (7 Hostile Work, 2024, p.1). Each of

those characteristics belongs to a protected class that are covered under the law. Within every

work environment, employees have the right to feel safe, respected, and supported in that

organization.

However, that is not always the case because there are some situations that makes a work

environment become hostile, which causes workers to have a hard time to thrive and be

successful in that organization. Furthermore, employees and human resource managers should be

able to recognize the signs of a hostile work environments. It is of the utmost importance for

employers to foster a workplace that is subtle enough for workers to maintain good mental,

physical, and emotional health. Therefore, this report will discuss a current news event of a

hostile work environment at an Amazon warehouse in Illinois, it will provide the facts from both

sides, analyze the facts of the case by utilizing the law of hostile work environment, explain if

the case occurred within multiple acts or as a single severe act, and give a personal view on what

should have been done to prevent the hostile environment along with advice on how to prevent it

form happening again (South University, 2024).

Preventing Hostile Work Environment 3

Amazon Workers Claim of Racially Hostile Work Environment

Amazon is one of the largest American e-commerce companies. It was founded in 1994

by Jeff Bezos who started selling books out of his garage online. In 2005 the company launched

Amazon Prime, and then it grew to AWS, selling Kindle e-reader, and whole foods. Amazon

sells a large array of products and services including cloud computing (Gaspard, 2024). With all

the expansions Amazon has endured, it presented the need for the company to meet the various

different needs of customers and their facilities. Therefore, the company operates hundreds of

facilities in many cities around the world. Amazon is the employer to one million employees

around the world, and as one can imagine there has been some instances within those facilities

that has fostered some claims of workplace harassment. The case of discussion happened within

the warehouse of Joliet, Illinois.

The facts in the case entail that employees at the MDW2 Fulfillment Center filed a

complaint with the EEOC against Amazon, claiming organizational abuse, racial discrimination,

and retaliation (Ross, 2022). The complaint was filed by at least 24 employees in 2022 that

allege the following:

1. Confederate images on worker’s clothing

2. Racist death threats written on the bathroom stalls

3. Corporate abuse

4. Retaliation

5. Racially-hostile work environment since 2021

(Meltzer, 2022, p.1).

In fact, Amazon fired an employee in July of 2022 when the person spoke out about the death

threats because he or she had concerns. When the person made the complaint, the company
Preventing Hostile Work Environment 4

dismissed the threats and did nothing to change the work environment (Meltzer, 2022). The

protected class of African American employees are seeking for Amazon to address the issue and

resolve it quickly. In addition, the group of workers are suing for monetary damages for the

emotional duress due to the actions that has caused the work environment to be extraordinarily

stressful. After the employee was fired for voicing concerns and demanding change, it caused

others not to speak up because of fear of losing their jobs.

The point of view Amazon has been alleged that if employees speak out, they will be

fired because each employee signed an agreement to remain silent. Amazon also took the

position of reiterating that the company “works hard to protect employees from any form of

discrimination while also providing an environment that employees feel safe”, and the

spokesperson for Amazon stated that “racism has no place within their workforce and will not be

tolerated” (Meltzer, 2022, p. 1). However, the company stands by the firing of the person who

first made the complaint, and the company claims that the firing took place because the

agreement the person signed violated their trade secrets. To examine if the employer is violating

discrimination laws, it warrants further analyzation of the law of hostile work environment.

Analyzing the Facts by Utilizing the Law of Hostile Work Environment

To understand if Amazon violated any discrimination laws, one must analyze the facts of

the complaint according to the law of hostile work environment. The law of hostile work

environment makes it illegal for any work environment to encourage, ignore, or tolerate unlawful

harassment (What Constitutes, 2023). If a workplace does engage in, does not address properly,

or condones any unlawful behavior workers has the right to complain or sue. The actions that are

included in workplace harassment is unwelcome, offensive, or threatening conduct that the

Preventing Hostile Work Environment 5

organization forces workers to endure (What Constitutes, 2023). The law also prohibits

employers from forcing workers to endure these actions in order to continue their employment.

The first fact within the case against Amazon that violates the law of hostile work

environment is when the person made the complaint managers did not do anything and swept it

under the rug. This is because the person that the racial harassment happened to belongs to a

protected class due to their race and gender. Furthermore, the person or persons administering

the hostile racist behavior did so in a manner that caused the person along with others to be

uncomfortable and offended. Another fact in the case that violates the law is the threats that were

place on bathroom stalls. It is every person’s right to feel protected within their workplace

without there lives being threatened or in danger. The next violation is when coworkers wore

racial images on their clothing. The last fact of the complaint is that of retaliation. The retaliation

occurred when Amazon terminated the employee after making verbal concerns about the death

threats, and the company did not address the threats and did not make any changes at the

facility’s work environment.

Pervasive Multiple Acts Case.

The case with Amazon is a case that involved multiple pervasive acts of the protected

class of African Americans. This case started out with one female complainant and grew to

involve more than 24 complainants. Each of these complainants endured the threatening,

offensive, and unwelcomed harassment since 2021. The managers or leadership that the incidents

were reported to did not take any action to rectify the situation or even stop those practices.

Instead, the leadership of the warehouse terminated the person who made them aware of the

harassing behavior that made the hostile work environment. The acts of the case that makes this

a case of multiple pervasive acts of African Americans are the following:

Preventing Hostile Work Environment 6

 Confederate imagery on coworker’s shirts

 Racist threats on the bathroom stalls

 Corporate abuse

 Retaliation

When making a hostile work environment complaint, establishing multiple acts will make it

simpler for the complainant to show a consistent pattern within that workplace. Another, reason

there are multiple pervasive acts is because there were various supervisors and fellow employees

who either caused the hostile work environment or ignored the acts all together. Lastly, the when

the employer fired the employee for complaining about the harassment it constituted an unlawful

retaliation (What Constitutes, 2023).

How to Prevent a Hostile Work Environment Now and in the Future.

In most states, the employer is legally required to take steps to prevent a hostile work

environment and to stop unlawful behavior within the workplace (What Employers, n.d.).

Employers should first be well versed in what the law of hostile work environment entails so that

it can take the necessary and legal steps to stop it from happening and to keep it from happening

in the future. The first thing that Amazon should have done to prevent this hostile environment

was to give a quick and thorough response to the complaint. The following are the steps that

Amazon should have done to adequately respond to the claims:

 Give thorough attention to the harassment claim by listening with

compassion and patience.

 Gather all needed details so that the matter can be adequately investigated.

 Do either an internal investigation or appoint a third-party to conduct the

investigation so that there is no bias.

Preventing Hostile Work Environment 7

 Inform the victim and the harassers of the results in writing of the outcome

of the investigation.

 If the investigation concluded that there is existence of a hostile work

environment, Amazon should take disciplinary actions against the harassers

by termination or reprimand.

 Reevaluate Amazon’s workplace harassment policy and implement stricter

and clearer restrictions.

 At no point should Amazon ever retaliate against the employee who made the

complaint by terminating their employment with the company.

No organization can afford to allow any facility to be a hostile work environment to

employees. Promoting a hostile work environment in any case is unlawful and comes with

consequences. Allowing a workplace to become toxic is not only unfair but it is also distressing

to those who are employed with the company. When this happens, it decreases job productivity

and that negatively affects the organization’s bottom line and revenue. When there is a claim of

a hostile work environment it is imperative for the employer to address those claims thoroughly

and adequately. Having policies that sets the rules if or when these actions takes place can save

organizations such as Amazon money and their reputations.

Preventing Hostile Work Environment 8

References

7 Hostile Work Environment Examples + Key Signs Your Workplace Is Unsafe. (2024). 7

Hostile Work Environment Examples + Key Signs Your Workplace Is Unsafe. p. 1.

https://www.inhersight.com/blog/culture-and-professionalism/hostile-work-environment-

examples

Gaspard, A. A. (2024). A Comprehensive Summary of Amazon.

https://atouchofbusiness.com/companies/amazon/

Meltzer, E. (2022). 8 Hazardous & Real Cases of Hostile Work Environments.

https://etactics.com/blog/cases-of-hostile-work-environment#Amazon-2022=

Ross, K. (2022). Employees at Amazon warehouse in Illinois allege racially hostile work

environment.

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/amazon-warehouse-employees-allege-racially-hostile-

work-environment/story?id=87555231

South University Online. (2024). Week 2 Project. Lecture Notes. Bright Space Classroom.

https://myclasses.southuniversity.edu/d2l/le/content/115296/Home

What Constitutes a Hostile Work Environment in North Carolina? (2023). What Constitutes a

Hostile Work Environment in North Carolina?

https://emplawfirm.com/hostile-work-environment-nc/

What Employers Need To Know About A Hostile Work Environment: California Edition. (n.d.).

https://www.easyllama.com/blog/hostile-work-environment-california