According to a recent report by the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), Amazon warehouse workers experienced more serious workplace injuries than their rivals in 2021. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s data provided by Amazon were evaluated by the SOC research (OSHA). While there were 6.8 severe injuries per 100 workers at Amazon facilities, there were only 3.3 severe injuries among non-Amazon warehouse employees. A severe injury is one that renders a worker unable of performing their regular job duties and necessitates placing them on light duty while they heal.
Amazon injury statistics are appalling
Even though just one-third of American warehouse employees are employed by Amazon, the SOC study found that in 2021, the company was accountable for about half of all industry injuries. In fact, from 27,100 overall injuries in 2020 to 38,300 total injuries in 2021, injuries at Amazon’s U.S. warehouses climbed by about 20%. Additionally, Amazon employees heal from their injuries more slowly, on average taking 62 days as opposed to 44 days for the industry.
Amazon employees have been sounding the warning for a long time
Amazon employees have long complained about being pressured to complete and deliver client orders as quickly as possible. There have been complaints that workers are not given enough breaks or time to use the restroom.
People trapped in lockdown during the coronavirus outbreak flocked to their computers to shop, drastically increasing the demand for online orders. To help fulfill the enormous volume of orders, Amazon responded by recruiting 175,000 additional warehouse workers; it links the increase in injuries to this surge in labor. The corporation also revealed in January that $300 million was spent in 2021 on enhancing worker safety, leading to a 43 percent decrease in the number of employees who missed work due to an injury.
Compensation for workplace accidents
Every employee has the right to a safe working environment and to adequate instruction on how to prevent workplace accidents. Unless government programs cover them, practically all employers in New Jersey are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance.
The workers’ compensation system offers benefits to employees who are hurt on the job or who get an occupational disease while working. Because it is a no-fault system, you can receive payments regardless of who was at blame for the accident.
You may typically be qualified for some or all of the following benefits: hospitalizations, prescription drugs, and all other forms of reasonable and required medical care are all included in the medical benefits. Benefits for temporary disability are available to employees whose injury prevents them from working for longer than seven days.
Benefits for permanent partial disability are paid to employees in accordance with a schedule that values specific injuries. If you have been injured while working at Amazon, contact PLBH at (800) 435-7542 to request a consultation with an employment law attorney.