Identify and describe:

1. the facts of the case;
2. the people or companies involved with the case;
3. the ethical issues involved with the case;
4. how different ethicists or philosophers would address these issues; and
5. how you think the ethical issues should be resolved.
6. In addressing these questions, focus on Amazon's legal and ethical duties to its employees. Is the company in compliance with relevant laws? What duties, if any, does it have to go "beyond compliance?" What actions should it take to meet these duties? Are concepts such as moral minimums, CSR, corporate citizenship, and sustainability useful for understanding how Amazon should move forward?"

"On its blog, Amazon has declared that such criticisms about low pay and poor workplace are "inaccurate and misleading." The Vice President of North American Operations has maintained that the company has "goals for employees in regards to performance metrics," and a team regularly examines the metrics to ensure that they are "safe, fair, and attainable." Amazon announced that its workers already earning $15 an hour would get raises of $1 per hour. Additionally, it introduced a cash bonus of $1,500 to $3,000 for tenure milestones when workers reach 5, 10, 15, and 20 years with the company. Furthermore, Amazon has indicated that workers with good attendance in the month of Decemberthe busiest month of the yearwould be eligible to receive an extra $100 bonus. As noted in the chapter, the federal minimum wage currently is $7.25 per hour.

Amazon has proclaimed that ensuring safety is its "number one priority." It has "safety metrics and audits" integrated into every program, and it expects continuous improvements in safety results through better equipment, standards, training, coaching, reporting, and systems to track and audit progress. Nonetheless, former employees continue to say that they sometimes find human waste in trash cans because workers feel that they cannot take the time to go to the bathroom. They hold that the focus on efficiency makes them feel like "robots" who are expected to do only one thing, and do it very quickly. The company has continually dismissed such reports as "unsubstantiated anecdotes."

Amazon continues to rely as much as it can on automation to reduce costs. While its warehouses already are highly automated and are emulated by other companies for their efficiency, the company has been considering going even further. For example, it has considered having employees wear wristbands to track their movements and nudge them with vibrations if they are working in ways that are inefficient or dangerous.

Work practices such as these often are distressing to workers, and some have been heard to say that they have had to pack boxes for the richest man in the world but that his wealth is not making their lives any better. As the company continues to rapidly grow its business, erecting warehouses around the world to keep pace with demand, it seems obvious that it will have to come up with new solutions to such problemsor will it?