OSHA Cites Amazon Warehouse In South Jersey For Workplace Violations

LOGAN TOWNSHIP, NJ — Federal investigators once again found that Amazon exposed its workers to serious physical harm. In the most recent citation against the company, authorities claimed that Amazon forced employees to perform tasks that were likely to cause musculoskeletal disorders at its warehouse in Logan Township.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) informed Amazon of the violations July 24. The agency recommends a $15,625 fine for the online retailer.

Amazon has 15 business days upon receipt to pay the penalties, contest the findings or request an informal conference with OSHA's area director.

OSHA has cited Amazon six times this year at various facilities throughout the nation. The department currently has 18 federal investigations open at different Amazon workplaces.

Following a complaint, OSHA inspectors began investigating the Logan fulfillment center in January. According to incidents listed in the citation, Amazon required the facility's workers to frequently reach high to retrieve heavy packages from cages before stacking them in the trailer, putting them at risk of lower-back and shoulder injuries, OSHA said.

The investigation also found that Amazon failed to ensure proper medical care for its employees.

"The work done by Amazon employees in the company’s fulfillment centers is physically demanding, which makes the availability of proper medical care extremely important," said Paula Dixon-Roderick, OSHA's area director in Marlton. "Amazon needs to do more to protect the safety and health of its employees, including implementation of a companywide strategy to address well-known and preventable hazards."

An Amazon spokesperson told Patch the following via email:

"We take the safety of our employees very seriously, and we strongly disagree with these allegations and intend to appeal. We've cooperated fully with OSHA's investigation at our Logan Township Fulfillment Center and don’t believe that these allegations reflect the reality of safety at our sites. Over the last several months we've demonstrated the extent to which we work every day to mitigate risk and protect our people, and our publicly available data shows that across our global network, our recordable incident rate has improved nearly 24% and long term incident rate has improved 53% since 2019."

Amazon has faced increased scrutiny over its labor practices in recent years, with employees at several warehouses alleging unsafe conditions. In New Jersey, three workers at different facilities died July and August 2022. However, OSHA did not find violations in the ensuing investigations, according to the department's database.