Amazon agrees to worker safety measures

20/12/2024 6:09

Amazon.com will implement

new safety measures at all of its U.S. facilities to settle a

federal agency's claims that it failed to prevent workers from

developing back problems and other ergonomic injuries, the

agency said on Thursday.



Amazon settled a series of complaints by the Occupational

Safety and Health Administration involving 10 facilities across

the country, which were set to go to trial before administrative

judges next year, OSHA said in a release.



The company will adopt measures such as adjustable height

workstations, ergonomic mats, harnesses and job rotations at all

of its fulfillment, sorting and delivery centers and establish a

process to review and correct hazards identified by workers,

OSHA said. Certain policies are already in place at some

facilities, according to the agency.



Amazon will also pay $145,000 in penalties, about 90% of

what the agency had sought in the underlying cases.



Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



OSHA director Douglas Parker in a statement said the

settlement would impact hundreds of thousands of Amazon workers.



“The ball is in the company’s court. OSHA stands ready to

work with their ergonomics team to evaluate their progress and

verify the commitments they made to OSHA," Parker said.



The announcement came on the same day that workers at seven

of Amazon's U.S. facilities walked off the job to protest what

they say is the retail giant's unfair treatment of its

employees.



Safety issues have been central to a nationwide campaign to

unionize workers at Amazon facilities, many of whom are employed

by third-party contractors. Unions, worker advocates and many

Democratic officials have criticized Amazon for allegedly

imposing production quotas on workers that force them to work at

a dangerous pace and develop injuries.



Amazon has said that it does not impose quotas and has

invested billions of dollars in worker safety.



OSHA said the settlement does not affect a separate

investigation by federal prosecutors in New York into whether

Amazon fraudulently concealed injury rates and worker safety

hazards at U.S. warehouses.