OSHA settles Amazon ergonomics cases

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reached a corporatewide settlement agreement with Amazon.com Services LLC to resolve 10 ergonomics cases about to go to trial before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, OSHA announced December 19.

The agency cited workplace health violations at 10 Amazon warehouses beginning in summer 2022. For exposing employees to ergonomics hazards, OSHA cited Amazon using its authority under the General Duty Clause (§5(a)(1)) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. There’s no federal ergonomics standard; in 2001, Congress rescinded a standard issued during the waning days of the Clinton administration.

OSHA also issued hazard alert letters following its investigations.

“This corporate-wide settlement agreement focuses on improving conditions for several hundred thousand Amazon workers nationwide,” Doug Parker, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, said in an agency statement.

“The agreement requires Amazon to assess ergonomic risk across its facilities, including through annual updates, and investigate and implement controls to reduce ergonomic risk,” he continued. “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.”

The agreement requires Amazon to ensure ergonomics requirements are effectively implemented at each Amazon facility covered by the agreement, according to OSHA. It applies to all of Amazon’s fulfillment centers, sorting centers, and delivery stations, among other facilities, in OSHA’s jurisdiction and provides for an alternative dispute resolution process intended to quickly address and correct ergonomic hazards raised by Amazon workers.

The agreement doesn’t cover an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York concerning, among other things, whether Amazon is engaged in a fraudulent scheme to hide its true injury rates and worker safety hazards at Amazon warehouses around the country.

Last year, OSHA cited Amazon with recordkeeping violations at warehouse facilities in several states for failing to properly record work-related injuries and illnesses. When the agency received referrals from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, it opened inspections at Amazon warehouses in Aurora, Colorado; Deltona, Florida; Nampa, Idaho; Waukegan, Illinois; and Castleton and New Windsor, New York.

Amazon’s other commitments under the agreement include the following:

• The corporate ergonomics team must conduct ergonomic risk assessments, identify and pilot engineering controls, provide ergonomic support and expertise to local sites, and have a designated site ergonomics lead (SEL). SELs must review corporate-level ergonomic risk assessments and prepare. Site-level assessments must be updated annually or sooner if a change increases ergonomic risk. SELs also must investigate and implement feasible site-specific controls. Amazon must ensure SELs, site-level safety and health staff, and site employees receive ergonomic training.
• Amazon must offer and maintain multiple methods for employees to communicate with the company regarding ergonomic concerns and potential solutions, including methods that permit employees to submit concerns anonymously if desired. 
• Amazon also must evaluate the effectiveness of its corporatewide ergonomics program by tracking sites’ compliance with the program, including analyzing training requirements, SEL assignments, and site-level ergonomic risk assessments.
• The agreement authorizes OSHA to conduct monitoring inspections at the locations where OSHA cited hazards, including access to documents and witnesses relevant to Amazon’s implementation of its ergonomics program.
• Awkward postures, overexertion, and repetitive motions are among the leading causes of employers’ workers’ compensation costs, insurer Liberty Mutual reported in its 2024 Workplace Safety Index.