Amazon Cited After OSHA Finds Ergonomic Hazards at Colorado Facility
The e-commerce company is facing proposed penalties of about $15,000.
- By Alex Saurman
- Feb 28, 2023
Amazon is being cited for the third time this year after OSHA found ergonomic hazards at a Colorado facility.
The agency received a complaint about an Amazon—a company well known for getting orders filled and packages delivered quickly—delivery station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, regarding musculoskeletal disorders and speed, according to a news release.
The agency inspected the facility in August 2022 and found employees exposed to ergonomic hazards. In total, OSHA cited Amazon for one serious violation and proposed penalties of $15,625.
"We continue to find that Amazon's work processes are designed for speed, not safety, and that these processes cause serious injuries to workers," explained Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Doug Parker in the news release. "Amazon needs to focus more of its passion for innovation and performance on eliminating the hazards that injure workers."
OSHA said that about 5,000 to 10,000 packages are processed per hour at the Colorado Springs delivery station per day and 50,000 packages are delivered there daily.
“We take the safety and health of our employees very seriously, and we don’t believe the government’s allegations reflect the reality of safety at our sites,” said Maureen Lynch Vogel, Amazon spokesperson, in a statement. “We’ve cooperated with OSHA and demonstrated how we work to mitigate risks and keep our people safe, and our publicly available data shows we reduced injury rates in the U.S. nearly 15% between 2019 and 2021. There will always be more to do, and we’ll continue working to get better every day.”
This is not the first time the e-commerce company has been cited for ergonomic hazards—it’s been the focus of two other citations issued this year alone. In mid-January, OSHA issued citations and proposed penalties of $60,269 for ergonomic hazards at warehouses in Florida, Illinois and New York.
Two weeks later, Amazon received more citations for ergonomic hazards identified at three warehouses, one in Colorado, one in Idaho and one in New York. Struck-by hazards were also found at the Florida facility.
Photo credit: HorizonUI / Shutterstock.com
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.