A short REPORTING thread on New Year’s Eve: Amazon’s Employment Contract & Code of Conduct. One rule for the executives & one for everyone else. 🧵 /1
In a verified, federal complaint - under oath - Amazon sued my husband for breaching this 5-page version of its employment contract. You can read the whole thing here: bit.ly/32SowgM /2 
But my husband had only ever signed THIS, 9 page version. It's ENTIRELY different. Go ahead, read it here: bit.ly/3zgQTBu /3
Can you imagine being sued in federal court for a contract you never signed? And being forced to pay for motions to get the suing party to amend? (Let alone the fact of being sued in VA when Amazon required you agree to Washington for any lawsuits...). That happened here. /4
Anyway, Carl’s contract explicitly allows him to - while employed at Amazon - start a business and “solicit and accept investment capital” from anyone *other than* an investor or prospective investor in Amazon. This is Section 3(c)(i). /5
Amazon’s support for such entrepreneurial activity emphasized later in Carl’s contract where Amazon says employees own all time & attention to the company BUT: “without limiting the provisions of Section 3.” (The start your own company & seek investment section!) /6
The company at issue is Allcore. Remember that? The one Carl told Amazon about & through which he was pitching business before Amazon alleged it was all a crime? Amazon doesn’t even require in its contract that Carl tell them about any new company. /7
What would have happened if Amazon had asked Carl about any of this instead of going to the FBI? Carl has asked to speak with Amazon multiple times since the FBI came & every time he is told some variation of “Amazon will only talk to him if he’s pleading guilty to a crime.” /8
Also, Amazon told us in this filing that they NEVER gave the FBI Carl’s employment contract. So, what was the basis for the FBI to say anything was a crime? Amazon’s word? Is that … all it takes? That’s terribly scary for employees across America if it's true. /9
Because, look, Amazon has ALL of the property it complains is a felony crime. And! It doesn’t allege it overpaid in rent for the data centers, the only $ it ever owed. So, does any of this make sense? /10 bloom.bg/3HqdMVP
Now, Amazon argues in its complaints that Carl also breached a contract via their allegation he breached Amazon’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. /11
But wait! The code is part of Amazon’s “Owner’s Manual & Guide to Employment.” In New Jersey federal court, Amazon said: The “Manual states unequivocally that ‘[it] is not intended as a contract’” & plaintiff couldn't have believed it "creates a legally binding contract.” /12
You know Amazon: Bend the rules for whatever they need! In Amazon’s world where they can pay 1000s an hour for a lawyer. Carl’s employment contract is CRYSTAL clear: The employment contract is the whole ball game. /13
Amazon COULD have incorporated their code into their employment contract. Look, Microsoft incorporated its “conflicting interest” provisions INTO their contract. Amazon does NOT. /14
The crazy thing about Amazon’s code of conduct is that it doesn’t even PROHIBIT conflicts of interest! It embraces them so long as they are in Amazon’s “best interest.” /15
Of course it does, because: Founder @JeffBezos owns multiple outside companies that did business with Amazon like @wapo & @blueorigin. And both of those companies use @awscloud as their cloud provider. /16
Heck, Jeff’s girlfriend’s company Black Ops Aviation even did business with Jeff's company! 20 MILLION! And scrapped in the can! /17
And @ajassy bought a hockey team - the @SeattleKraken - while employed at Amazon. And then, after! For the first time ever, Amazon bought a pro stadium! Coincidentally, I guess, it was the Kraken’s BILLION $$ stadium. /18
And so: I guess that’s all okay, the Amazon execs doing business with Amazon for personal gain. But my husband should go to prison for Amazon's allegations. That’s literally what Amazon is lobbying the government to do. That's a wrap on today's report. /19
@threadreaderapp please unroll
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