Federal officials said six Amazon warehouses across five states are being investigated for allegedly failing to record and report work-related injuries and illnesses, according to a news release from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
OSHA, which operates under the U.S. Department of Labor, said Dec. 16 that it has issued citations to Amazon warehouses in Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois and New York. OSHA said its findings are part of an ongoing investigation that began with referrals from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
The agency said it opened inspections on July 18 at Amazon locations in Deltona, Florida; Waukegan, Illinois; and New Windsor, New York; and on Aug. 1 at locations in Aurora, Colorado; Nampa, Idaho; and Castleton, New York.
OSHA said it issued Amazon citations for 14 recordkeeping violations, including “failing to record injuries and illnesses, misclassifying injuries and illnesses, not recording injuries and illnesses within the required time, and not providing OSHA with timely injury and illness records.”
Amazon faces more than $29,000 in proposed penalties. By law, Amazon has 15 business days after receiving the citations and proposed penalty to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or argue against the findings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, OSHA said.
“Solving health and safety problems in the workplace requires injury and illness records to be accurate and transparent,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker. “Our concern is that nothing will be done to keep an injury from recurring if it isn’t even recorded in the logbook which — in a company the size of Amazon — could have significant consequences for a large number of workers.”
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