Amazon Reaches Settlement With OSHA On Working Conditions

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(RTTNews) - The U.S. Department of Labor announced on Thursday that The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has reached a settlement with Amazon (AMZN) over allegations of hazardous workplace conditions.

OSHA reached a corporate-wide settlement with Amazon to "help better protect employees from hazardous working conditions leading to serious lower back and other musculoskeletal disorders at Amazon facilities," the press release says.

"This corporate-wide settlement agreement focuses on improving conditions for several hundred thousand Amazon workers nationwide," said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas Parker. "The agreement requires Amazon to assess ergonomic risk across its facilities, including through annual updates, and investigate and implement controls to reduce ergonomic risk. 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."

In 2022, OSHA opened an investigation focused on concerns about Amazon's safety practices across its operations network.

The settlement agreement requires Amazon to take action at the corporate level to ensure ergonomics requirements are effectively implemented at each Amazon facility covered by the agreement.

The agreement will apply to all of Amazon's fulfillment centers, sortation centers, and delivery stations, among other facilities, in federal OSHA's jurisdiction and provides for an alternative dispute resolution process intended to quickly address and correct ergonomic hazards raised by Amazon workers.

Amazon will have to pay a $145,000 penalty, adopt workplace safety measures and allow OSHA access to inspect those facilities for the next two years, according to the terms of the settlement.