news/AMZN/2023.02.01/Amazon faces more warehouse safety violations over worker injuries.txt

Amazon is facing fines for safety violations at three additional warehouses, two weeks after the online retail giant was penalized for unsafe work conditions at several other fulfillment centers, the Department of Labor announced Wednesday.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the citations citing back injuries and long hours at Amazon warehouses in Aurora, Colo.; Nampa, Idaho; and Castleton, N.Y. OSHA also issued hazard alert letters for exposing those workers to ergonomic hazards following inspections last year.After reviewing on-site injury logs in August of 2022, OSHA discovered Amazon warehouse workers had experienced a high rate of musculoskeletal disorders before fining the three facilities $46,875 in penalties."Amazon's operating methods are creating hazardous work conditions and processes, leading to serious worker injuries," said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker."They need to take these injuries seriously and implement a company-wide strategy to protect their employees from these well-known and preventable hazards," Parker said.The inspections follow similar violations at three other Amazon warehouse facilities in Florida, Illinois and New York, where workers were found to be at high risk for lower back injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders due to lifting packages and other items for long hours. Last month's penalties for those violations totaled $60,269.At all six warehouses, OSHA investigators found Amazon had exposed its workers to injury due to the high frequency that employees are required to lift packages, in addition to the heavy weight of those items. Investigators also said employees were forced to "awkwardly twist, bend and extend themselves to lift items" during long hours to complete their assigned tasks."Workers face immense pressure to meet pace of work and production quotas at the risk of sustaining musculoskeletal injuries, which are often acute," OSHA wrote in a letter to the warehouse in Idaho.OSHA also said staffing shortages may have led Amazon to underreport injuries, which is required by federal law."Evidence that injuries may not have been reported, because Amazon's on-site first-aid clinic, Wellness Center, is not staffed appropriately, which our investigation has revealed would otherwise be an important mechanism by which Amazon gathers injuries to report," the letter added.In December of 2022, OSHA cited Amazon for 14 record keeping violations as part of the same investigation. Amazon has 15 days to comply with the citations or contest the findings.Last month, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the company denies the allegations and plans to appeal."We've cooperated fully, and the government's allegations don't reflect the reality of safety at our sites," Nantel said. "Over the last several months, we've demonstrated the extent to which we work everyday to mitigate risk and protect our people."Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).  Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent., source US Top News