<P> A substantial New York Times article published on August 16, 2015, described evidence of an intimidating and confrontational working culture for the company's office workers . </P> <P> In an effort to boost employee morale, on November 2, 2015, Amazon announced that it would be extending 6 weeks of paid leave for new mothers and fathers . This change includes birth parents and adoptive parents and can be applied in conjunction with existing maternity leave and medical leave for new mothers . </P> <P> In 2013, Amazon secured a 600 million dollar contract with the CIA, which poses a potential conflict of interest involving the Bezos - owned Washington Post and his newspaper's coverage of the CIA . Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, said, "It's a serious potential conflict of interest for a major newspaper like The Washington Post to have a contractual relationship with the government and the most secret part of the government ." </P> <P> Amazon lobbies the United States federal government and state governments on issues such as the enforcement of sales taxes on online sales, transportation safety, privacy and data protection and intellectual property . According to regulatory filings, Amazon.com focuses its lobbying on the United States Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Reserve . Amazon.com spent roughly $3.5 million, $5 million and $9.5 million on lobbying, in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively . </P>

Where did the company name amazon come from