The U.S. Department of Labor announced Wednesday new citations for three more Amazon warehouses in Aurora, Colorado. Nampa, Idaho. and Castleton, New York -. Because they failed to keep workers safe.
As part of the enforcement action, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration distributed hazard warning letters for exposing workers to ergonomic hazards.
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OSHA noted Amazon’s failure to provide a safe workplace in violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s “General Obligation Clause.”
Details: OSHA cites Amazon for a work environment that “failed to maintain worker safety.”
The inspection began in July 2022 at other Amazon warehouse facilities in Florida, Illinois, and New York, following a referral from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which found similar violations. It’s what follows. OSHA later launched an inspection at Aurora. Nampa and Castleton on August 1, 2022.
OSHA investigators found that at all six locations, Amazon put warehouse workers at a higher risk of back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders. Heavy items to handle. Employees twist, bend, and stretch awkwardly as they lift objects. and for a long time.
Amazon warehouse workers experienced high rates of musculoskeletal disorders, OSHA said, proposing fines of $46,875 for violations at its Aurora, Nampa and Castleton facilities.
“The way Amazon operates creates unsafe working conditions and processes that lead to serious worker injuries,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. We must implement a company-wide strategy to protect our employees from these well-known preventable hazards.”
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In a statement released Wednesday, Nicholas Biers, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, said: , and possible fraud designed to hide injuries from OSHA and others. ”
“We take the safety and health of our employees very seriously and do not believe the government’s claims reflect the safety reality of our site. We have shown how we are working together to reduce risk, keep our employees safe, and publicly available data show that injury rates will increase in the U.S. between 2019 and 2021. It’s down nearly 15%, Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said in a statement to ABC News.
Biase said members of the public can report issues related to workplace safety and injuries at Amazon’s warehouses to SDNY’s U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“Anyone with information about safety issues, including safety issues related to the pace of work, should be notified of failure to report an injury, or of Amazon’s on-site first aid center or Amazon-recommended clinic. You can share information about inappropriate medical care in your country by contacting SDNY via the following link: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/webform/sdny-amazon-warehouse -investigation,” his statement continues.
In January, OSHA also cited Amazon for failing to provide workers with a perceived hazard-free workplace causing serious physical harm.
This was the second OSHA subpoena issued following a referral from federal prosecutors in New York investigating workplace complaints.
Amazon slapped with more worker safety citations amid discovery of back injury, originally appeared on abcnews.go.com