Amazon Fined for Worker Safety Violations in Three States

US federal workplace safety regulators fined Amazon.com Inc. more than $60,000 for putting warehouse employees at risk for lower back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration discovered the violations last year during inspections of Amazon warehouses in Deltona, Florida; Waukegan, Illinois; and New Windsor, New York.

“Each of these inspections found work processes that were designed for speed but not safety, and they resulted in serious worker injuries,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “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.”

Similar investigations at other Amazon facilities in Aurora, Colorado; Nampa, Idaho; and Castleton-on-Hudson, New York, continue.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the company takes workplace safety seriously and reduced injury rates nearly 15% between 2019 and 2021.

“We strongly disagree with these allegations and intend to appeal,” she said in an emailed statement. “We’ve cooperated fully, and the government’s allegations don’t reflect the reality of safety at our sites.”

The fines amount to a slap on the wrist for an enterprise of Amazon’s size but still represent a ratcheting up of pressure on the company, which has pledged to reduce injury rates that are higher than its industry peers. In December, OSHA cited Amazon for 14 record-keeping violations during an ongoing probe of six facilities in Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois and New York. The unrecorded incidents included injuries to wrists, knees, backs and shoulders that resulted in employees missing work, OSHA said.

Photo: Employees load a truck with boxes to be shipped at a Amazon.com Inc. distribution center. (Bloomberg)