Amazon Warehouse
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California labor regulators on Tuesday Said was fined Amazon It was fined about $6 million for violating state laws aimed at limiting the use of harsh productivity quotas in warehouses.
The California Labor Commission said it had inspected two Amazon facilities in Moreno Valley and Redlands, both east of Los Angeles, and found 59,017 violations of the state’s warehouse quota law. Productivity quotas are a frequent source of unrest among Amazon workers.
The Warehouse Quota Act, which goes into effect in 2022, requires employers to disclose to employees and government agencies productivity quotas and the disciplinary actions workers will face if they fail to meet them. The law also prohibits employers from requiring warehouse employees to meet unsafe quotas and prevent them from taking state-mandated meal breaks, restroom breaks, or using the restroom.
The labor board said Tuesday that Amazon “failed to provide written notice of the quotas.” The company argued that quotas weren’t necessary because it uses a “peer-to-peer evaluation system,” the agency said.
“The peer-to-peer system Amazon used at these two warehouses is exactly the kind of system the Warehouse Quota Act was designed to prevent,” Labor Commissioner Lilia Garcia Brower said in a statement.
Amazon has faced increased scrutiny in recent years over how it treats its warehouse and delivery workers, with regulators and critics focusing particularly on the pace of work, arguing that speed requirements put workers at higher risk of injury.
Washington State Safety Regulations for 2022 fine The lawsuit alleges that Amazon “willfully” violated workplace safety laws by making employees work at an extremely fast pace, increasing their risk of musculoskeletal injuries, sprains, strains and other problems often caused by repetitive tasks.
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has also cited Amazon for multiple safety violations, and Amazon has said it will appeal all of the charges.
States including New York, Washington and Minnesota have passed similar restrictions, and a federal bill was introduced last month by Sen. Ed Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts.
Amazon, the second-largest private employer in the United States, has previously said it doesn’t employ fixed quotas, relying instead on “performance expectations” that take into account several metrics, including the performance of teams on specific sites. It has also disputed claims that workers don’t get enough breaks.
Amazon has also defended its safety record. The company said in March that injury rates had improved. investment plan It has spent more than $750 million on safety measures this year.
Amazon spokeswoman Maureen Lynch Vogel said the company disagreed with the allegations and was appealing them.
“In reality, we don’t have fixed quotas,” she said in an email. “At Amazon, individual performance is evaluated over time in relation to the performance of teams across sites. Employees can and are encouraged to review their own performance at any time, and if they’re having trouble finding information, they can always ask their manager for help.”
clock: Amazon worker safety risks condemned by regulators and Justice Department
