Amazon to Boost Worker Safety Nationwide to Settle OSHA Cases(1)

Amazon has agreed to implement nationwide safety procedures to address conditions that can lead to worker injuries as part of a settlement reached with OSHA.

The settlement between the company and the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration comes as the parties were scheduled to begin trials in 10 cases before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commissions between January and June 2025 related to inspections conducted across 10 Amazon facilities since 2022.

“The agreement requires Amazon to assess ergonomic risk across its facilities, including through annual updates, and investigate and implement controls to reduce ergonomic risk,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas Parker.

Ergonomic risks are situations in the workplace that can lead to injuries like serious lower back and other musculoskeletal disorders.

An Amazon spokesperson said OSHA is withdrawing nine of the 10 citations, while the company is accepting only one of those citations for a site in Illinois where the company agreed to make changes in order to better enforce its already existing policies on ergonomic risks.

“Today’s agreement acknowledges our progress and notes that we should keep implementing and following our existing comprehensive ergonomics policies and procedures,” said Maureen Lynch Vogel, an Amazon spokesperson.

“There isn’t a claim of wrong-doing on Amazon’s part for the withdrawn citations, nor a directive to adopt new safety controls,” she added.

The agreement covers all Amazon fulfillment centers, sorting centers, and delivery stations, and also provides for an alternative dispute resolution process to efficiently address and correct ergonomic hazards raised by workers, according to the Department of Labor.

OSHA was seeking nationwide relief in the case, which a presiding OSHRC judge had previously ruled last year the agency could pursue.