Amazon distribution center in Shakopee fined for worker safety and ergonomic hazards

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s (DLI) Minnesota OSHA Compliance has fined an Amazon distribution center in Shakopee.

The $10,500 penalty was cited for worker safety hazards discovered during an occupational safety and health inspection in October of last year. The inspection found Amazon did not protect employees from ergonomic hazards while selecting, sorting, packaging and shipping products.

It also found that warehouse employees who were expected to meet a quota of selecting, stowing and packaging products were not provided a written copy of the quota before they were expected to meet its request. 

Because of these reasons, Minnesota OSHA Compliance issued two serious citations, including a violation of the general duty clause and one violation of the warehouse distribution worker safety law.

“It is important that work processes are designed with the goal of eliminating workplace injuries and that workers be informed of expectations that directly impact their safety and well-being,” said DLI Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach. “I’m proud of MNOSHA’s work to enforce Minnesota’s laws that ensure warehouse workers have a safe and healthy workplace. My hope is that the new laws and this enforcement leads warehouses in Minnesota to make the safety and health of their workers the top priority.”

Amazon has contested the citations, and provided this statement:

“There is nothing more important than our employees’ health and safety, and we disagree with these citations and have appealed. Amazon’s employee performance guidance at our operations facilities is based on safe and achievable expectations that take into account employee time and tenure, peer performance, and safe work practices. We follow all state and federal laws and do not have fixed quotas. Despite sharing this information and more with Minnesota OSHA during their investigation, they’ve chosen to issue a citation which reflects a lack of understanding of how we measure performance.”