Amazon faces probe by federal prosecutors and OSHA into warehouse safety
Summary
Federal prosecutors in New York and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are inspecting a handful of Amazon warehouses as part of a civil investigation into working conditions at the e-commerce giants sprawling facilities. OSHA, a division of the Labor Department that polices workplace safety, on Monday inspected Amazon warehouses outside New York City, Chicago and Orlando for possible hazards in response to referrals received from the U.S. "The Civil Division of the SDNY is investigating potential worker safety hazards at Amazon warehouses across the country, as well as possible fraudulent conduct designed to hide injuries from OSHA and others," Biase said in a statement. Multiple studies by the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of labor unions, attributed high injury rates among warehouse and delivery workers to Amazons "obsession with speed." Amazon warehouse workers have previously complained that the companys pace of work prevents them from taking adequate bathroom and rest breaks, and leads to unfair disciplinary actions.