Amazon, the e-commerce giant, is currently being inspected by the federal prosecutors in New York and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA as part of a civil investigation into working conditions at its warehouses across the United States.
Amazon Currently Under Investigation
According to Engadget, OSHA, a division of the Labor Department that polices workplace safety, began inspecting Amazon warehouses outside New York, Chicago, and Orlando on July 18.
The division inspected the warehouses for possible hazards in response to referrals received from the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, according to Nicholas Biase, the SDNY chief spokesperson.
Biase added that the Civil Division of the SDNY is investigating potential worker safety hazards at Amazon warehouses across the United States, as well as possible fraudulent conduct designed to hide workplace injuries from OSHA.
A Department of Labor spokesperson confirmed it opened investigations at Amazon warehouses in Illinois, New York, and Florida.
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The department said that it receive referrals all the time from different federal agencies, law enforcement and other groups, and declined to share more information about the probes because they are active investigations.
The department urged current and former Amazon warehouse employees to report safety concerns to them through an online form.
It highlighted that it is seeking information about safety issues that are coming from the pace of work in Amazon warehouses, and injuries that may be treated by the company's onsite first-aid center, called AmCare, or at a clinic recommended by the e-commerce giant.
Amazon's Poor Treatment of Warehouse Employees
For years now, Amazon has repeatedly come under fire from regulators, lawmakers, activist groups and its own employees because of its poor treatment of warehouse and delivery employees.
Critics have zeroed in on Amazon's use of productivity quotas and argued that its focus on speed often leads to injuries and exhaustion at warehouses, according to Bloomberg.
Several studies by the Strategic Organizing Center, which is a coalition of labor unions, shows that high injury rates among warehouse and delivery workers are because of the company's "obsession with speed."
New York and California lawmakers have taken aim at the pace of work in the warehouses of Amazon through legislation that seeks to curtail the use of restrictive quotas.
The warehouse workers have previously complained that Amazon's pace of work prevents them from taking breaks, resting, and it leads to unfair disciplinary actions, according to CNBC.
Workplace safety problems are one of the several catalysts behind a recent spike in organizing efforts among the employees.
In April, workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island voted to unionize, which is the first Amazon warehouse in the United States to do so.
Workers at another Staten Island facility rejected a union, while a second election at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama is contested. Since the elections, organizing efforts have started at other Amazon warehouses in the country.
Amazon has previously said that is supports workers' right to organize but it does not believe that unions are the best choice for its employees.
Amazon has denied that it uses productivity quotas in its warehouse employees, and disputed reports of unsafe working conditions.
In April, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that the e-commerce giant's injury rates are "misunderstood," but he believes that the company can do better to protect its employees.
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Written by Sophie Webster
