US Regulator to Investigate Deaths of Amazon Workers in New Jersey: Details

The new investigation adds to a probe already underway following a third fatality during the company's annual Prime Day shopping event in mid-July.

Advertisement
By Associated Press | Updated: 13 August 2022 02:03 IST
Highlights
  • Amazon is facing a probe from OSHA, a US work-safety regulator
  • Three Amazon workers have died within the past month
  • An Amazon worker died during the Prime Day shopping event last month
US Regulator to Investigate Deaths of Amazon Workers in New Jersey: Details

New OSHA investigations are putting fresh scrutiny on Amazon's injury rates

Federal work-safety investigators are looking into the death of an Amazon worker and an injury that potentially led to the death of another employee, adding to a probe already underway following a third fatality during the company's annual Prime Day shopping event in mid-July.All three Amazon workers died within the past month and were employed at company facilities in New Jersey.

The new Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) investigations are putting fresh scrutiny on Amazon's injury rates and workplace-safety procedures, which have long been criticized by labor and safety advocates as inadequate.

Department of Labor spokesperson Denisha Braxton confirmed Thursday that the most-recent fatality took place last week at an Amazon facility in Monroe Township, about 20 miles (35 kilometers) northeast of Trenton. The second probe is looking into a July 24 accident at an Amazon facility in Robbinsville. The worker involved in that accident died three days later, according to Braxton.

In a statement, Robbinsville Police Chief Michael Polaski said police responded to the warehouse, called PNE5, on July 24 after receiving a report that a worker fell from a three-foot (one-meter) ladder and struck his head.

Advertisement

Polaski said the worker was conscious and alert when police arrived. But police were told CPR was conducted on the person by other workers prior to their arrival, he said. The person was transported to a hospital and OSHA was notified of the incident on the same day, he added.

Police in Monroe Township didn't immediately reply for a request for comment on the incident there.

Advertisement

The two most recent deaths were first reported by the USA Today Network.

OSHA officials declined to provide additional information about any of the deaths, citing the open investigations. The agency has up to six month to complete each probe.

Advertisement

Sam Stephenson, a spokesperson for Seattle-based Amazon, said in a statement the company was “deeply saddened by the passing of our colleagues and offer our condolences to their family and friends.”

“Our investigations are ongoing and we're cooperating with OSHA, which is conducting its own reviews of the events, as it often does in these situations,” Stephenson said.

Last month, OSHA launched another investigation into a worker fatality at an Amazon warehouse in the New Jersey town of Carteret during the company's Prime Day shopping event, which turned out to be the biggest in the company's history. Federal officials haven't released additional details about the death, but news reports have identified the worker as 42-year-old Rafael Reynaldo Mota Frias.

A spokesperson for Amazon said the company's internal investigation into the Carteret death shows it “was not a work-related incident, and instead was related to a personal medical condition.”

“OSHA is currently investigating the incident, and, based upon the evidence currently available to us, we fully expect that it will reach the same conclusion,” the spokesperson said.

News of the deaths comes amid broader scrutiny into the company's operations. In late July, OSHA officials inspected Amazon facilities in New York, Illinois and Florida after receiving referrals alleging health and safety violations from the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. The civil division of the U.S. attorney's office is also investigating safety hazards at Amazon warehouses and “fraudulent conduct designed to hide injuries from OSHA and others," according to a spokesperson for the office.


How is Alexa faring in India? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Amazon, OSHA, Work Safety
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Vivo T4R 5G to Launch Soon in India; Design Teased
  2. iPhone 16 Available in India at Rs 69,999 in Flipkart's GOAT Sale 2025
  3. Here's When Apple Could Unveil the iPhone 17 Series
  4. iQOO Z10R With 32-Megapixel Selfie Camera to Launch in India on This Date
  5. Grok Will Now Let You Chat With a Goth Anime Girl That Has an NSFW Mode
  6. Motorola Razr 60 Ultra Review: Flip Phone Perfection?
  7. Realme 15 Pro 5G to Get 50-Megapixel Sony IMX896 Main Rear Camera
  8. HMD T21 Tablet With 10.36-Inch 2K Display Launched in India: Check Price
  1. Axiom Space’s Ax-4 Crew Returns from ISS Aboard SpaceX Dragon Grace After Record Research Mission
  2. Crystalline Ice Discovered in Space: New Study Reveals Hidden Order in Cosmic Ice
  3. NASA Deploys High-Tech Aircraft to Support Texas Flood Relief and Recovery Efforts
  4. Massive Boulders Ejected by DART Mission Could Complicate Future Asteroid Deflection
  5. The Map That Leads to You OTT Release Date: When and Where to Watch it Online?
  6. Anuraga Karikkim Vellam Streaming Now on SunNXT: Everything To Know About Cast, Plot, and More
  7. CyberPowerPC India Announces Launch of Esports Masterclass Series in Navi Mumbai
  8. iPhone 16 Available at Rs 69,999 in Flipkart's GOAT Sale 2025; Price Discounted on Amazon as Well
  9. Google Pixel Watch 4 Could Use Same Processor as Last Year's Pixel Watch 3
  10. Delhi High Court Orders E-Commerce Platforms to Delist Products Infringing on Reliance, Jio Trademarks
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.