Jennifer Crane is an outbound packer at an Amazon warehouse in St. Peters, Missouri. She has to assemble a cardboard box, retrieve a product from a shelf, stuff it full of packing material, seal it, slap on a tracking label, and hoist it onto a conveyor belt every 37 seconds. Last October, she injured her left arm while lifting a case of sparkling water.
She went to Amazon’s on-site first aid clinic, AmCare, where staff told her she had a small sprain and gave her an ice pack. They told her she could go back to work.
The next morning, Crane’s left hand was so painful that she couldn’t grip the steering wheel. She went back to AmCare and demanded to see a doctor. The doctor prescribed work restrictions, but AmCare staff told her she could still do a less intensive job.
Crane spent seven weeks waving a Swiffer duster around the warehouse for 10 hours a day. Her wrist was still in pain, and she eventually had to see an MRI. The doctor said she had torn a ligament.
Crane’s experience is not unique. Recent OSHA investigations and interviews with AmCare staff have found that Amazon often discourages injured workers from seeking outside medical care. Instead, they are treated at AmCare with heat, ice, or over-the-counter painkillers. This can put them at risk of further injury.
Amazon says that it does not try to hide injuries and that employees can seek outside treatment at any time. However, WIRED’s reporting suggests that AmCare staff are often encouraged to steer workers toward in-house treatment.
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AmCare staff are not qualified to diagnose and treat injuries. They are typically emergency medical technicians, but they do not work under a doctor’s supervision. By limiting treatment to first aid, Amazon avoids having to report these injuries to OSHA.
OSHA says that this practice can put employees at increased risk of developing enduring health issues.
In conclusion, Amazon’s AmCare clinics have been accused of discouraging injured workers from seeking outside medical care and of providing inadequate treatment. This practice can put employees at risk of further injury and long-term health problems.
In April 2023, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued Amazon a citation for medical mismanagement. This is the third citation that OSHA has issued to Amazon in its 53-year history. OSHA found that Amazon staff at a warehouse outside Albany, New York, sent at least six employees with serious injuries back to work instead of referring them to doctors. This practice could have led to prolonged injuries and lifelong suffering for the employees.
In one instance, an employee was hit in the head with a box. Blood began dripping out of their ear, which is a sign of a skull fracture. The employee later developed a headache, but staff sent them back to work without calling a doctor.
In another instance, a 28-pound bench press bar collided with an employee’s head, causing a concussion. Staff returned the worker to their job operating heavy machinery.
Amazon is appealing the citation. The company says that it disagrees with the claims and that it will continue to improve safety at its sites.
Here are some additional details about the citation:
- The citation was issued for a violation of OSHA’s General Duty Clause, which requires employers to provide a safe and healthy workplace.
- The citation was based on a six-month period in which Amazon staff sent at least six employees with serious injuries back to work without referring them to doctors.
- The injuries included a skull fracture, a concussion, and a broken leg.
- Amazon is appealing the citation, but it is still required to pay a fine of $13,600.
This is not the first time that Amazon has been criticized for its handling of workplace injuries. In 2019, a report by the Center for Investigative Reporting found that Amazon had a high rate of serious injuries at its warehouses. The report also found that Amazon often discouraged injured workers from seeking outside medical care.
OSHA’s citation is a reminder of the need for employers to take workplace safety seriously. Employers should not send injured workers back to work without first getting them the medical care they need.
Interviews with former AmCare employees suggest that Amazon is pressuring its on-site clinics to keep the number of workers sent to doctors low, even when they are injured.
Eight former AmCare employees told WIRED that they were told to seek permission from senior managers before sending an injured worker to a doctor. They also said that managers would sometimes try to talk workers out of seeing a doctor.
One former AmCare employee, Peter Torres, said that managers at a California warehouse would bring up the number of workers who were sent to the doctor on the same day they were injured. “They said it was making us look bad,” Torres said. “We needed to find a way to improve those numbers.”
Torres said that he was once asked by a manager to try to convince an injured worker to be treated in-house. A colleague had already decided to refer the worker to a doctor, but Torres was asked to talk the worker out of going. “That’s a big no-no in the emergency medical services world,” Torres said. “You never step on somebody else’s patient.”
Amazon spokesperson Maureen Lynch Vogel said that the company’s policy is to provide injured workers with the best possible care. She said that the company tracks “day one” numbers only to ensure that its staff are providing high-quality first aid.
However, the former AmCare employees who spoke to WIRED said that they believe Amazon is putting profits ahead of worker safety. They said that the company is more concerned with keeping its injury numbers low than it is with ensuring that injured workers get the care they need.
This is not the first time that Amazon has been accused of pressuring its employees to work while injured. In 2019, a report by the Center for Investigative Reporting found that Amazon had a high rate of serious injuries at its warehouses. The report also found that Amazon often discouraged injured workers from seeking outside medical care.
The various probes into Amazon’s safety record could force the company to revamp its processes or haul executives before Congress.
Amazon expects injured workers to continue working after receiving treatment at its on-site clinics, even if they are still in pain.
The company has a policy of allowing injured workers to continue working for up to three weeks without seeing a doctor. After that, they can be referred to an outside provider, but they are still expected to work.
This policy has been criticized by some as being a way for Amazon to avoid paying workers’ compensation claims. Others say that it puts injured workers at risk of further injury.
A recent investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that Amazon was pressuring its on-site clinics to keep the number of workers sent to doctors low. OSHA also found that AmCare staff were sometimes telling injured workers that they could not see a doctor until Amazon had treated them first.
Amazon has denied these allegations, saying that it provides injured workers with the best possible care. However, the company has also said that it is reviewing its policies and procedures.
The issue of how to best care for injured workers is a complex one. There is no easy answer, and different companies may have different approaches. However, it is important to ensure that injured workers are getting the care they need, both physically and financially.
Here are some additional details about the issue:
- Amazon’s policy of allowing injured workers to continue working for up to three weeks without seeing a doctor is not uncommon. However, it is not the standard practice. Most companies require injured workers to see a doctor as soon as possible.
- OSHA’s investigation into Amazon’s handling of injured workers is ongoing. The agency has not yet issued any citations or fines.
- Amazon has said that it is committed to providing injured workers with the best possible care. The company has also said that it is reviewing its policies and procedures.