The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has not done enough to protect warehouse workers from injuries and illnesses, especially during the period just before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to findings by the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
In a report released Wednesday, the OIG said OSHA’s enforcement actions have not effectively addressed the high injury and illness rates occurring in warehouses.
The report says OSHA didn’t inspect enough warehouses through its site-specific targeting programs, and that it also had limited visibility into the numbers and types of injuries taking place in warehouses because the agency only collected minimal injury data from employers and didn’t enforce mandatory employer reporting requirements.
The OIG issued several recommendations to OSHA on ways to improve warehouse safety, including developing better goals for the site-specific targeting program, creating a more effective enforcement strategy, implementing specific employee training to address the warehouse National Emphasis Program, and updating criteria for companies to be included in the site-specific targeting program.