The U.S. Department of Labor announced Friday that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Amazon for failing to properly record certain work-related injuries and illnesses during inspections at six warehouses.
OSHA has issued citations against Amazon for 14 record-keeping violations, including failing to record injuries and illnesses, misclassifying injuries and illnesses, failing to record injuries and illnesses in a timely manner, and failing to provide to OSHA records injuries and illnesses in a timely manner, according to the Department of Labor.
Amazon faces $29,008 in proposed penalties, according to the Department of Labor.
“Addressing workplace health and safety issues requires accurate and transparent injury and illness records,” Assistant Secretary of Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker said in a statement. .
Amazon logo seen at the entrance to Amazon’s Shannon Building in Dublin on July 8, 2021.
Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
“Our concern is that nothing will be done to prevent an injury from happening again if it is not even recorded in the logbook, which – in a company the size of Amazon – could have significant consequences. for a large number of workers,” Parker added.
According to Nicholas Biase, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the citations stem from workplace safety inspections at Amazon warehouses outside of New York, Albany, Denver, Boise, Chicago and Orlando.
OSHA initiated the inspections in July and August based on referrals received from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
“These references were for potential workplace hazards related to, among other things, the work rate required by Amazon for its warehouse workers,” Biase said.
According to the Department of Labor, Amazon has 15 business days from receipt of the citation and proposed penalty to comply, request an informal conference with the OSHA regional manager, or challenge the findings before the Safety Commission. occupational safety and health review.
The findings are part of an ongoing investigation.
“The safety of our employees is our top priority, and we invest hundreds of millions of dollars each year to ensure we have a robust safety program to protect them,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said. , in response to OSHA’s findings.
Nantel continued, “Accurate record keeping is a critical part of this program and while we recognize that there may have been small administrative errors over the years, we are confident in the numbers we have reported to the government. We are thrilled that OSHA came to the same conclusion today.
Workers at the cited Amazon warehouses, which the company calls “fulfillment centers,” have complained of a grueling pace, uncomfortable heat and risk of injury.
Congressmen Cori Bush, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Elizabeth Warren too sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Thursday about the company’s “reported failure to improve the structural safety of the facility after its deadly collapse in December 2021,” which left six people dead after a tornado bludgeoned the establishment.
“Amazon has a responsibility to make the modest investments necessary to ensure workers at its Edwardsville plant are protected from future disasters,” the letter said.
“Your company’s reported decision to rebuild the Edwardsville warehouse in the same condition as when six workers died there last year suggests that you are once again placing your profits on worker safety,” the authors wrote. legislators.
In response to the letter, Nantel said: “Over the past year, we have worked with our team, the community and everyone affected by the tragic storms to support them and grow stronger together. As part of this effort, we have strengthened our emergency response plans and tailored them to meet the specific needs of each site, increased the frequency of emergency drills for employees and partners, and reassessed weather zone assembly locations extremes in many of our facilities to ensure they not only meet OSHA requirements, but also FEMA guidelines, which are the strictest and most comprehensive.
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