© Reuters. The emblem of Amazon is seen on the firm logistics heart in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, February 20, 2017. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Picture
By Daniel Wiessner
(Reuters) -Amazon.com Inc did not correctly report work-related accidents and sicknesses at six warehouses in 5 states, the U.S. Division of Labor stated on Friday as a part of an ongoing investigation into the corporate’s security insurance policies.
The U.S. Occupational Security and Well being Administration (OSHA), part of the Labor Division, stated it had cited Amazon (NASDAQ:) for 14 separate recordkeeping violations, and the corporate faces $29,000 in fines.
OSHA fines typically can not exceed about $14,500 per violation, and are sometimes a lot decrease for recordkeeping violations.
The citations contain warehouses in Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois and two amenities in New York. OSHA stated it was nonetheless investigating alleged security violations on the warehouses.
Amazon in a press release stated the citations contain clerical errors and weren’t a sign of a systemic recordkeeping downside. OSHA categorized the violations as “apart from severe,” the company’s lowest-level quotation, the corporate stated.
Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon, stated that employee security is a high precedence and the corporate invests a whole lot of tens of millions of {dollars} every year to make sure a sturdy security program.
“Whereas we acknowledge there could have been small administrative errors over time, we have been assured within the numbers we have reported to the federal government,” Nantel stated in a press release.
Amazon has 15 days to pay the fines or contest them earlier than a federal overview board.
SAFETY RECORD
Doug Parker, the top of OSHA, stated in a press release that correct recordkeeping is essential to addressing office well being and questions of safety.
“Our concern is that nothing will likely be completed to maintain an damage from recurring if it is not even recorded within the logbook which – in an organization the scale of Amazon – may have vital penalties for numerous employees,” Parker stated.
Critics of Amazon have lengthy stated that the corporate places revenue over security by requiring staff to work at an unsafe tempo and forgo breaks to fulfill demanding quotas.
The corporate’s security report got here beneath renewed scrutiny throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and after an Illinois warehouse collapsed throughout a twister final yr, killing six employees. OSHA declined to fantastic Amazon in that case.
These considerations helped spur union campaigns at warehouses throughout the nation, together with at a New York Metropolis facility the place employees voted to unionize in March.
OSHA stated on Friday that Amazon had did not hold correct data at a warehouse close to Albany, New York, the place employees in October voted towards becoming a member of a union.
Washington state’s labor division in March fined Amazon $60,000 for violating office security legal guidelines by requiring warehouse staff to carry out repetitive motions at a quick tempo, rising their danger of damage.
Amazon is contesting these findings, and in October filed a lawsuit claiming the division can not drive the corporate to deal with the alleged security hazards whereas its enchantment is pending.
