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Comment by CSMastermind | Hacker News Reader

My experience with Amazon HR is this: my ex-girlfriend had an internship with Amazon in the summer of 2013. While there her manager friended her on Facebook then sent her some messages suggesting that if she slept with him he would make sure she got a full time offer and explicitly describing his fantasies about her.

She ended sleeping with him and true to his word he got her the full time position. About a month later I found out about the whole thing and broke up with her.

I submitted the transcripts of their conversations to HR. They conducted an investigation and he admitted to everything. The guy got to keep his job. They transferred him to another group and wanted her to sign a statement saying that nothing improper happened. They strongly suggested that her full time offer might be rescinded is she didn't sign the statement.

She signed and has been working there the past 6 months.

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If what you're saying is accurate (I'm not suggesting that you're lying; but if there are no important omitted details that might cause us to draw different conclusions about what you've said so far), then do I hope she has the courage to come forward with the FB transcripts -- especially all the explicit fantasies the hiring manager was stupid enough to post in conjunction with an explicit quid-pro-quo in the same channel. Along with copies of any ridiculous statements she was forced to sign.

These companies just won't stop behaving badly until their behavior gets vividly exposed often enough for them to start thinking twice. In the case of sexual harassment, the more incontrovertibly damning material that comes out (provided it is done with the express consent of the victims), the better.

The "victim"? Please. She weighed things and decided that a fulltime job right out of the gate was more important than a one-nighter and cheating on her ex. Not justifying the manager and everyone involved in the cover-up but this sounds more like a consenting adults agreement than a poor victim exploitation.

Except it's not legal.

Or you can look at it that if she was a guy she would have just been offered the job. In this scenario her manager thought "hmm, she fits in well here and I can also get laid!" In that case, she had to have sex with somebody to get a job that somebody else would have got without question.

"Victim" in the sense of not having a fair chance of applying for the job in the first place.

I don't understand this... I would imagine anyone smart enough to obtain an internship with Amazon would realize that they could sue Amazon and settle for enough money to never have to work again in their life. How could she possibly take that offer?

I feel there may be more to the story, especially as you are her ex and I feel we should all take this with a grain of salt....

They strongly suggested that her full time offer might be rescinded is she didn't sign the statement.

This is shitty, but there is a certain logic. By signing the statement, she repudiated the narrative by which she had earned her position by having sex. If she had not denied that, Amazon would have been employing someone who had a radically incorrect understanding of her duties as an employee.

She sounds like a good fit for Amazon.

If your gf has saved those messages, I think she can still sue Amazon. The fact that she signed something under duress should not matter.

Lorne Malvo would have handled things a bit differently

This is especially egregious.

http://www.stopvaw.org/quid_pro_quo_sexual_harassment

Appalling... I'm really sorry to hear that you were involved with her, that she had such a disgusting manager, and that he nor she were reprimanded.

Please don't blame the victim. How would you feel if you applied for a job, and worked there for three months, and then your manager told you that you'd have to have sex with him to get your job, regardless of your merit for the role?

Not blaming the victim, definitely blaming the manager. And though was likely damaging to sense of self-worth and measure of merit, its unfortunate that she didn't take the chance to punish her manager or find a job elsewhere.

Whilst there is despicable behavior on behalf of the manager, I feel it's not as clear-cut as that.

She worked there as an intern. She had not applied for a job.

He told her he'd make sure she'd GET an offer if she slept with him, not that she would have to do so to get a job.

She then did so, and hid it from her (ex partner). She also agreed that "nothing improper" happened (which is problematic for numerous reasons, and not without the threat of authority).

She worked there as an intern. She had not applied for a job. He told her he'd make sure she'd GET an offer if she slept with him, not that she would have to do so to get a job.

You're splitting hairs. From the point of view of the law, it was a quid-pro-quo specifying preferential consideration in matters of employment (or promotion) in exchange for sex. That's what matters.

She then did so, and hid it from her (ex partner).

Completely irrelevant to the sexual harassment issue.

She also agreed that "nothing improper" happened (which is problematic for numerous reasons, and not without the threat of authority).

She signed a statement, under duress (and implicit threat of termination) about the subjective import of what happened. Which in no way changes or diminishes the physical reality of actually did happen. Which for Amazon, appears to be quite damning on its own merits. Quite damning, indeed.

Post the transcript!

/kidding

Unfortunately this is all too common, especially in SV. There are just too many "forever alone" types with hiring power, and girls who will do anything to be a successful "young professional."

This situation certainly wasn't your fault, but that manager raped your girlfriend -- using a threat of employment loss to extract sex from her. He put her in a very tough position that few people would be able to overcome.

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