Amazon’s Culture of Fear Endangers Workers

Employers are supposed to maintain safety procedures that prevent workplace injuries. At Silverman, McDonald & Friedman, if you have suffered a workers’ compensation injury, we’ll be in your corner to help you fight for the benefits that you deserve. Protecting workers and their families in Wilmington, Seaford, and Newark.

Online shopping just continues to grow in popularity, and that’s not going away. Companies that can deliver the goods quickly enough to satisfy the growing need for instant gratification win the larger share of the marketplace. It’s become such a convenience that people give little consideration to the magic that happens between the time they click “add to cart” and when their items arrive at their doorsteps. The fact of the matter is that a lot happens, actually.

There isn’t much that Amazon doesn’t stock and deliver to every household across the United States. Having the ability to fulfill those orders takes an unimaginable amount of manpower and organization. This system comes at great cost to their employees, who are suffering high a rate of workers’ compensation injuries – too many. The current injury rate for workers in their fulfillment warehouses alone is between 15 and 26 out of every 100 employees. That’s two to six times the average injury rate at other companies around the country.

Fear of losing a good thing

When Amazon opens distribution centers in communities, they bring a lot of employment opportunities. For many people, this is an answered prayer that they need to hold on to tightly to support their families. Amazon makes it tough for employees to leave by offering an impressive menu of benefits. Employees working at least 20 hours per week can obtain numerous benefits that include a health plan, 50% matching 401K, adoption assistance, and a life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance policy. That last one is especially noteworthy because working in these warehouses is dangerous enough that you just might need to cash in on that benefit.

Employees are not only afraid to quit, but they’re also afraid to be fired. So much so that it’s heavily contributing to the injury rate. Amazon’s culture of speedy delivery, which they are continuously trying to improve, starts in their warehouses. Employees are expected to pull hundreds of items per hour. They are expected to keep that same pace their entire work day. Managers track employee progress, accounting for literally every second of every employee’s day. Workers are so afraid of falling behind on already unrealistic expectations that they are putting their health in jeopardy. For example, order fillers frequently skip restroom breaks to maintain their order pulling quotas, which have resulted in many contracting urinary tract infections.

An impossible job

Amazon does have safety protocols in place for workers pulling orders. The problem is that the most pullers are simply unable to accomplish the volume of work tasked to them by following standard procedure. Employees are being placed in nearly impossible situations. Following safety policies will significantly cut down on injuries, but it will also likely mean being out of a job. While Amazon does have to comply with federal and state safety regulations, nothing in those regulations limits injury rates.

There is no shortage of applicants lining up to take the places of injured employees who are no longer capable of working at warp speed. Literally adding insult to injury, Amazon seemingly has no loyalty to those hurt while trying to keep the company on top of the shipping and delivery industry.

Amazon also relies heavily on robotic warehouses, which they claim decreases worker injuries, yet those warehouses have the highest injury rates, likely due to human workers trying to keep up with robotic workers.

Amazon fulfillment center workers commonly experience painful:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Back injuries
• Muscle and shoulder strains

A force to be reckoned with

Although Amazon has been fined for safety violations in the past, it doesn’t appear to be changing anything within the company. They also appear to have assistance with escaping liability for catastrophic injuries and death. One employee in an Indiana warehouse was killed after being crushed by a forklift. Because the state was courting the company, which intended to build another headquarters there, the safety violations that led to the worker’s death were deleted and no fine was levied.

The workers’ compensation attorneys at Silverman, McDonald & Friedman have dedicated decades of experience to helping clients through the claims and settlement process so that they can begin to enjoy life again. If you or a loved one has been hurt at work, schedule your free case consultation in our Wilmington, Seaford, or Newark offices by calling 302-888-2900, or we invite you to reach out to us through our contact form.