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Comment by ziari | Hacker News Reader

B&H's customer focus does not imply ethical behavior. They've been accused of racial/gender discrimination, unsafe working conditions, and harassment. [1] They recently settled with the U.S. Department of Labor for $3.2 million. [2]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%26H_Photo_Video#Controversie...

[2] https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ofccp/ofccp20170814

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Fortunately most of the negative comments you’ve read are either misrepresentations of the facts or outright untruths. We have been in business since 1973. A large portion of our growth and success is rooted in our understanding that the company-customer and company-employee relationships are the crux of that success. We would no more damage one than the other. We value and respect and cherish our employees.

Ironically, these were released relatively recently:

http://bit.ly/2jIf31M and http://bit.ly/2PMMzWT Henry Posner / B&H Photo-Video

Hi Henry — thanks for the reply. I appreciate your willingness to engage with the HN community.

> Fortunately most of the negative comments you’ve read are either misrepresentations of the facts or outright untruths.

Which specific allegations are you able to refute with evidence? I read the OFCCP administrative complaint. For example, the federal government found that B&H didn't even have a designated restroom for women at the Brooklyn Navy Yard facility. That seems like damning evidence of gender-based discrimination.

if you have a bit of knowledge, you should know that every big organization has those types of settlements its impossible to avoid them

Sure, that's a fair point.

As I said earlier, the fact that B&H treats its customers well does not imply that it treats employees with the same respect. While it's possible that all of the lawsuits against them lack merit... we're not talking about a few disgruntled employees making frivolous claims. B&H was sued by the federal government twice regarding nearly identical allegations.

Whataboutism is not a good defense to founded charges of racial/gender discrimination, unsafe working conditions, and harassment. Despite your claims, there are plenty of companies that do not have these problems, and many more that do not suffer them to the same degree.

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