The Occupational Safety and also Health Administration, or OSHA, has actually provided a citation versus Amazon, declaring that the business went against safety legislations and also stopped working to maintain employees in 3 stockrooms secure. The regulatory authority has actually likewise suggested $60,269 in fines connected to the violations– a spit in the sea for a firm that tape-recorded over $127 billion in sales throughout the 3rd quarter of 2022 alone yet a reasonably high fine contrasted to a number of the ones it encountered from OSHA in the past.
According to a news release, the citation comes from examinations at 3 stockrooms situated in Deltona, Florida, Waukegan, Illinois, and also New Windsor,New York OSHA states that Amazon “exposed workers to ergonomic, struck-by hazards” in the area, placing them at “high risk for lower back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders.”
Doug Parker, aide secretary for Occupational Safety and also Health, laid component of the blame on the speed that Amazon collections for its warehouse staff members. “Each of these inspections found work processes that were designed for speed but not safety,” he claimed, mentioning that the system at the stockrooms appeared tailored towards obtaining bundles shipped as opposed to employee safety.
It’s an objection Amazon has actually encountered for years, consisting of from OSHA itself Last year, campaigning for team The Strategic Organizing Center launched a record claiming that Amazon employees compose an overmuch high percent of all warehouse sector injuries in the United States. Outside of the warehouse, a 2019 record from Buzzfeed and also ProPublica charged the business of trading safety for rate in its shipment network, which factor was restated in 2015 by the SOC.
A declaration from the protestor team Athena Coalition quotes Daniel Olayiwola, an Amazon warehouse employee in San Antonio: “OSHA’s findings are a reflection of the experience of Amazon workers like me in warehouses all over the country.” Olayiwola states that employees have actually been “speaking out for years about the grueling pace of work and exploitative policies that directly cause burnout, severe stress on our bodies, and unsafe situations.”
For its component, Amazon does not concur with OSHA’s most current claims. “We take the safety and health of our employees very seriously, and we strongly disagree with these allegations and intend to appeal,” reviews a declaration from representativeKelly Nantel “We’ve cooperated fully, and the government’s allegations don’t reflect the reality of safety at our sites.” Nantel likewise mentions an enhancement in the business’s injury prices in between 2019 and also 2021 (an insurance claim comparable to one Amazon made in reaction to the 2022 SOC record) and also states that “We look forward to sharing more during our appeal about the numerous safety innovations, process improvements, and investments we’re making to further reduce injuries.”
According to OSHA, Amazon got citations for 14 record-keeping violations in 2015 for “failing to record injuries and illnesses, misclassifying injuries and illnesses, not recording injuries and illnesses within the required time, and not providing OSHA with timely injury and illness records.” Those featured suggested penalties of around $29,008 and also belonged to the very same examination as the citations introducedWednesday
The regulatory authority dinging Amazon is unusual yet not uncommon. The business got a citation in 2015 for stopping working to appropriately tape-record occupational injuries and also diseases, in addition to a handful of