Warehouse Safety Failures Spur OSHA to Action
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched a program designed to identify, reduce and prevent workplace hazards in warehouses, distribution centers and other high injury rate retail establishments.
The national program’s debut comes after the regulatory agency has hit Amazon, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree and TJ Maxx with fines for unsafe working conditions across retail stores and warehouses over the past year.
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In the case of Dollar General, the Department of Labor-operated administration has levied more than $21 million in fines since 2017 resulting from 243 failed inspections, with the latest penalty coming Thursday. An OSHA news release dated July 13 proposes $342,000 in penalties for eight violations at two Tampa-area Dollar General stores in Florida.
Under OSHA’s new three-year emphasis program, the organization will conduct comprehensive safety inspections focused on hazards related to: powered industrial vehicle operations; material handling and storage; walking and working surfaces; means of egress; and fire protection.
The program will also include inspections of retail businesses with high injury rates with a focus on storage and loading areas; however, OSHA may expand an inspection’s scope when evidence shows that violations may exist in other areas.
In addition, OSHA will assess heat and ergonomic hazards under the emphasis program, and health inspections may be conducted if the agency determines these hazards are present.
“Our enforcement efforts are designed to do one thing: lead to permanent change in workplace safety,” said Doug Parker, assistant secretary for Occupational Safety and Health. “This emphasis program allows OSHA to direct resources to establishments where evidence shows employers must be more intentional in addressing the root causes of worker injuries and align their business practices with the goal to ensure worker health and safety.”
Inspected establishments will be chosen from two lists. One includes establishments with industry codes covered under this emphasis program, including warehousing and distribution centers, couriers and express delivery services and mail processing. The second consists of a limited number of retail establishments with the highest rates of injuries and illnesses resulting in days away, restricted duty or a job transfer.
According to OSHA, individual state plans are required to adopt this emphasis program or establish a different program “at least as effective” as the federal model. A state plan must submit a notice of intent indicating whether it will adopt the federal program or establish its own with 60 days of Thursday’s launch.
A regional version of the federal program was initially launched last year by OSHA across warehousing, storage and distribution centers, focusing on industry employers in Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and Washington.
OSHA’s program comes as national attention focuses on workplace safety in warehouses, especially at Amazon. The e-commerce giant has already been cited by OSHA’s federal branch four times this year across seven facilities for ignoring safety hazards and even got Senator Bernie Sanders to open an investigation into the company’s warehouse conditions last month.
Amazon’s warehouse conditions inspired the first employee unionization at the tech titan last year in Staten Island, N.Y., and have also been the target of other labor unions. One such coalition of unions, the Strategic Organizing Center (SOC), has repeatedly taken the company to task in reports that compile the data Amazon submits to OSHA.
But the problem, according to OSHA’s investigations, stems beyond Amazon and warehouses, as retailers like Dollar General and TJ Maxx have been taken to task for unsafe store environments. In these cases, issues range from blocked exits and electrical panels to “slip and trip” hazards in store aisles.
OSHA: Dollar General can’t claim they misunderstand federal safety requirements
On Thursday, OSHA revealed that it found Dollar General once again exposed employees to fire hazards and other unsafe conditions at two stores in the Tampa, Fla. area.
The administration issued citations for two repeat violations after a Jan. 18, 2023, inspection at a store in Brandon, Fla. identified blocked exit routes and electrical hazards. Inspectors also found the store did not have a working employee restroom and creating a tripping hazard by leaving a restroom sewer drain uncovered.
Two days later in Dade City, Fla., OSHA inspectors found an emergency exit blocked by rolling containers and merchandise, exposing workers to fire and entrapment hazards.
In the wake of these inspections, OSHA issued citations to Dollar General for three repeat, two serious and three “other-than-serious” violations and proposed penalties of $342,282.
“After more than 200 failed inspections, Dollar General cannot claim that they misunderstand federal safety requirements. At this point, we can only conclude that they choose to continue exposing their employees to hazardous conditions,” said Danelle Jindra, OSHA area director in Tampa. “Dollar General must make changes to correct these recurring violations before a worker is needlessly injured or worse.”
