Amazon warehouses in New York City and elsewhere are being investigated by federal prosecutors and the US Department of Labor over unsafe office circumstances, ABC News has reported. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) performed inspections “related, among other things, to Amazon’s required pace of work for its warehouse employees,” a spokesperson mentioned in a press release.
On prime of probing potential security hazards, the investigators had been additionally wanting into “possible fraudulent conduct designed to hide injuries from OSHA and others,” the company added. It mentioned that it opened the inspections primarily based on referrals from the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York relating to allegations of security and well being violations. It’s additionally probing Amazon workplaces outdoors of Illinois and Florida.
Over the final a number of years, Amazon has confronted various complaints and probes over office security, notably round demanding duties. Earlier this 12 months, Washington state’s Department of Labor cited and fined the corporate for “strenuous work at an unsafe pace” in Kent. Last 12 months, the corporate issued a uncommon apology for tweets attacking criticism of working circumstances, particularly that drivers and different staff had been compelled to pee in bottles to attain goals.
Following the collapse of a warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois throughout a hurricane, the corporate was criticized by members of congress and the senate for “wholly inadequate” warehouse security. In April, staff at New York’s Staten Island warehouse voted to type the corporate’s first US union.
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