The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued proposed financial penalties against online retailer Amazon Inc. after inspectors said employees were not given proper medical care at a fulfillment center in Castleton, New York, after suffering work-related injuries.
OSHA on Friday said the investigation in Castleton, which is part of an ongoing inspection that began at Amazon’s upstate New York fulfillment center in August 2022, was spurred by reports that at least six employees with head injuries and four with back injuries did not receive timely and necessary medical care.
The workers were instead returned to their jobs after suffering injuries and many saw their conditions worsen as a result, according to OSHA.
OSHA, which proposed fines of $15,625, said the reports show a “callous disregard” for the well-being of Amazon’s Castleton fulfillment center workers.
Amazon disputed OSHA’s account.
“We take the safety and well-being of our employees extremely seriously, and the claims in this citation are just plain wrong, so we plan to appeal,” Amazon spokeswoman Maureen Lynch Vogel wrote in a statement.
Ms. Vogel wrote that the company’s policy is to encourage injured workers to seek outside medical attention immediately and onsite clinics are there for first aid, “not formal medical diagnosis.”
A Robbinsville, New Jersey, Amazon facility received a hazard letter for deficient on-site medical practices in January 2016, and a similar warning was issued in January to a Deltona, Florida, facility.
OSHA said it also cited the Castleton location in February for ergonomic violations.
The latest case marks the fourth time this year that OSHA cited Amazon for various workplace safety violations at seven warehouses in Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Illinois and New York.
Amazon has 15 days to contest the proposed penalties in the latest case.