The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations in opposition to Amazon at three of its warehouses for exposing employees to security hazards, the division introduced Wednesday.
Amazon employees on the three amenities — positioned in New Windsor, New York, Waukegan, Illinois, and Deltona, Florida — had been uncovered to “ergonomic hazards” that put them at excessive danger for decrease again accidents and musculoskeletal problems, which refers to issues similar to sprains, strains and carpal tunnel syndrome, based on the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Amazon’s strenuous warehouse working circumstances, which require workers to raise heavy packages for lengthy hours, typically in “awkward postures,” contributed to the ergonomic hazards, the workplace stated.
Amazon additionally obtained a separate quotation for exposing employees at its Deltona warehouse to being struck by falling packing containers of merchandise.
Amazon faces a complete of $60,269 in proposed penalties for these violations.
“Each of these inspections found work processes that were designed for speed but not safety, and they resulted in serious worker injuries,” Douglas Parker, assistant secretary of Labor for occupational security and well being, stated in a press release. “While Amazon has developed impressive systems to make sure its customers’ orders are shipped efficiently and quickly, the company has failed to show the same level of commitment to protecting the safety and well-being of its workers.”
Representatives from Amazon did not instantly reply to a request for remark.
OSHA inspected the amenities after it obtained referrals from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. OSHA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in July opened an investigation into the three amenities. CNBC reported in August that the probe expanded to incorporate three different websites, close to Albany, New York, Denver, Colorado, and Boise, Idaho.
Amazon additionally faces a separate investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s civil division that facilities round employee security hazards on the e-retailer’s amenities nationwide. As a part of the probe, investigators are additionally wanting into whether or not Amazon has precisely reported employee accidents and if it misrepresented these accidents to lenders to acquire credit score.
In December, OSHA cited Amazon for failing to report accidents and sicknesses, misclassifying accidents and sicknesses, not recording accidents and sicknesses throughout the required time, and never offering OSHA with well timed harm and sickness data. It was fined greater than $29,000 for these violations.
Amazon, which is the second-largest employer within the U.S., behind Walmart, has been routinely criticized by lawmakers, activist teams and its personal workers for its office security report. Critics have more and more zeroed in on Amazon’s use of productiveness quotas, arguing its relentless concentrate on velocity results in on-the-job accidents at warehouses. Multiple research by the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of labor unions, attributed excessive harm charges amongst warehouse and supply employees to Amazon’s “obsession with speed.”
Lawmakers in New York and California have taken purpose on the tempo of labor in Amazon warehouses via laws that seeks to curtail the usage of overly restrictive quotas, amongst different issues.
Amazon warehouse employees have beforehand complained that the corporate’s tempo of labor prevents them from taking ample toilet and relaxation breaks, and results in unfair disciplinary actions.
Workplace issues of safety are one in every of a number of catalysts behind a current spike in organizing efforts amongst Amazon workers. In April, employees at an Amazon warehouse on New York’s Staten Island voted to type the corporate’s first U.S. union. Workers at one other Staten Island facility rejected a union, whereas a second election at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama is being contested. Since these elections, organizing efforts have begun at different Amazon websites within the U.S.
Amazon has beforehand stated it helps employees’ proper to prepare however would not consider unions are your best option for workers.
Amazon has denied that it makes use of productiveness quotas in its warehouses and disputed studies of unsafe working circumstances. In April, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated the corporate’s harm charges are “sometimes misunderstood,” however he acknowledged Amazon can do extra to enhance security inside its amenities.
The firm has additionally stated it strives to be “Earth’s Best Employer,” and in 2021 expanded its checklist of foundational management ideas to incorporate the sentiment. Amazon has not too long ago skilled some turnover within the roles that assist oversee that effort, together with its office security chief, Heather MacDougall, CNBC reported.
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