National COSH Announces “Dirty Dozen” Employers
Amazon, Starbucks and Dollar General among National Council for Occupational Safety and Health’s list.
- By Alex Saurman
- Apr 28, 2022
Yesterday, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (COSH) announced this year’s “dirty dozen” employers, companies who have unsafe work practices.
According to a press release, the 12 employers are:
- Amazon (an Alabama site and nationwide)
- Atlantic Coast Utilities/Laurence Moloney (Boston, Massachusetts)
- Daikin America (Alabama)
- Dollar General (Nationwide)
- Ernst Nursery and Farms (Oregon)
- Foundation Food Group/Gold Creek Foods (Georgia)
- Hilton Hotels (Nationwide)
- Kingspan Light and Air (California)
- Liox Cleaners/Wash Supply Laundromat (New York)
- Mayfield Consumer Products (Kentucky)
- Refresco (New Jersey)
- Starbucks (Nationwide)
This is Amazon’s third time on the list. Amazon is on the list because of an incident at a Bessemer, Alabama facility where six workers died and because of the higher-than-average injury rate.
Some of the employers, such as Liox Cleaners/Wash Supply Laundromat, Refresco and Starbucks, are listed because they put workers at risk for COVID-19.
Others made the list because employees died while on the job, such as at Ernst Nursery and Farms. Here, a worker died during a heat wave. At Mayfield Consumer Products, nine workers died after they were told to stay on site during a tornado.
According to National COSH, in 2020, more than 4,700 workers died because of workplace incidents. It estimates that more than 95,000 workers die every year from long-term exposure to hazards and toxins.
National COSH announced this during Workers’ Memorial Week, a week to remember those who lost their lives on the job, and one day before Workers’ Memorial Day.
To learn more about the “dirty dozen,” read the press release.
About the Author
Alex Saurman is a former Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety,who has since joined OH&S’s client services team. She continues to work closely with OH&S’s editorial team and contributes to the magazine.