Amazon’s harassment allegations blast off, should prompt your own policy review

Amazon is in the news again. And, no, I’m not talking about executive chair Jeff Bezos’ flight to the edge of space. This time, I’m referring to new harassment and discrimination allegations against the company. According to reports, Amazon Web Services, a company subsidiary, received a petition signed by more than 550 employees alleging “systemic discrimination, harassment, bullying and bias against women and under-represented groups.” In response, Amazon hired outside investigators to look into the charges. It will likely be many months before the probe is complete. In the interim, it’s a good time for Massachusetts employers to review their legal obligations when it comes to workplace harassment.

Have appropriate policies

Massachusetts law requires employers with six or more employees to have a written sexual harassment policy and distribute it at the time of hire and annually to the workforce. The policy must do the following:

• Define “sexual harassment”;
• Outline your internal complaint and investigation procedures;
• Include a notice that sexual harassment is unlawful and that it’s also illegal to retaliate against someone who reports the conduct or participates in the ensuing investigation; and
• Inform employees about the locations of the state and federal agencies where they can file a discrimination charge alleging sexual harassment.

Every time you distribute the policy, we strongly encourage you to obtain signed acknowledgment forms from employees indicating they have received, read, understood, and agreed to abide by it.