OSHA cites 3 Amazon warehouses for high injury risk

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal safety investigators cited three Amazon warehouses for putting workers at serious risk of injury from the bending, twisting and lifting required to rapidly move and stack packages for hours.

Amazon rejected the findings by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and said it would appeal.

OSHA announced the citations Wednesday at warehouses in Florida, Illinois and New York, which were inspected as part of an ongoing investigation into Amazon's safety practices in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

The Seattle-based e-commerce giant, which earned $33 billion in 2021, faces $60,269 in total fines if OSHA prevails.

The fines are the maximum penalty under the Occupational Safety and Heath Act's “general duty” clause, which requires employers to provide a safe working environment, said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. But in a briefing with reporters, Parker dismissed the idea that Amazon could easily absorb the penalty rather than shoulder the cost of changing its practices, saying the company is legally required to take action or face more serious consequences.

“Each of these inspections found work processes that were designed for speed but not safety, and they resulted in serious worker injuries,” Parker said, adding that Amazon “continues to conduct business as usual” despite serious injury rates at warehouses that were nearly double the industry average in 2021.

Parker said the Amazon warehouses in New York and Florida had DART rates - meaning days away from work, job restrictions or transfers due to injuries - that were triple the industry average of 4.7 injuries per 100 workers.

Amazon has itself has acknowledged at injury rates for its warehouse...