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Amazon, 1 of nan world’s largest employers, has for years faced scrutiny complete its information record. When Billy Foister, a 48-year-old worker, died aft a bosom onslaught wrong 1 of nan tech giant’s warehouses successful September 2019, managers were accused of telling unit to “get backmost to work”.
When different worker died this period astatine a distribution halfway successful Troutdale, Oregon, an Amazon spokesperson claimed they had collapsed from an “existing aesculapian issue”. They denied a report that a adjacent worker was told: “Please get backmost to work.”
As Donald Trump’s management continues to overhaul national authorities oversight of workplace safety, workers wrong Amazon and labour advocates opportunity nan company’s wounded rates, and really it treats injured workers, stay a problem.
While nan institution insists that “nothing is much important” than its employees’ safety, it continues to look questions astir really it handles, and reports, workplace injuries.
A training PowerPoint archive obtained by nan Guardian connected “best practices” wrong its AmCare in-house first assistance unit, included slides connected really to “maximize AMCARE Utilization”, which it defined arsenic nan percent of labor who walk done without nan request to spot a workers’ compensation doctor.
The position covers really to “prevent time 1 nonstop outs”, wherever workers bypass nan work and spell to a expert first. AmCare “CAN NOT nonstop immoderate 1 location aliases excuse time”, it said. If a worker is injured, it said, “do not urge they return clip to remainder it away”, adding: “report to amcare and person curen early.”
Amazon disputed nan document, dated August 2022. “We person complete a cardinal labor who sometimes create documents that are ne'er used,” Sam Stephenson, a institution spokesperson, said. “This archive is respective years old, doesn’t bespeak nan priorities aliases policies of our Global Medical Health team, and was ne'er approved for use.”
Juan Loera-Gomez, 46, was moving astatine LGB5, an Amazon sortation halfway successful San Bernardino, California, successful October 2024, erstwhile he was assigned to activity unsocial successful an area he typically did not activity in, according to a lawsuit revenge successful March. The area usually had astatine slightest 3 workers, per nan filing.
After respective hours unjamming, pushing and pulling boxes that each weighed much than 50 pounds, Loera-Gomez claims that he sustained a “life-altering workplace wounded to his backmost and shoulders”.
He reported his wounded to his manager, according to nan lawsuit, only to beryllium told to support working. In November 2024, he was seen astatine a aesculapian halfway and fixed activity restrictions, and Amazon placed him connected ray duty. Over nan adjacent six months, Loera-Gomez was diagnosed pinch respective strains, sprains and a lumbosacral disc illness while receiving care.
‘Fired by a azygous email’
As he recovered, Loera-Gomez participated successful organizing efforts pinch different workers, calling connected Amazon to make improvements to information and moving conditions successful nan storage and urging nan institution not to return alleged disciplinary action for “time disconnected task” spent utilizing nan bathroom.
Loera-Gomez alleges that thing unusual happened successful May 2025. He was told by a information head he would request to find a caller spot to work, according to nan lawsuit, because nan institution could nary longer accommodate his activity restrictions. He started receiving notifications that he had exceeded 180 days of moving nether accommodations. The pursuing month, Loera-Gomez was told he could nary longer travel to work, nan suit said.
Amazon placed Loera Gomez connected unpaid leave. He protested, until his employment was terminated successful January, according to nan lawsuit.
“They accommodated my activity restrictions aft my wounded astatine first, but past abruptly forced maine retired connected unpaid leave, moreover though I was still capable to work. I was later fired by a azygous email,” said Loera-Gomez successful a statement. “What Amazon did was very difficult connected my family. We depended connected my occupation to salary for our house, nutrient and monthly expenses for my children.”
Stephenson, nan Amazon spokesperson, said “many of these claims look to beryllium mendacious aliases misrepresent Amazon policies”, and expressed assurance that this “will beryllium proven done nan ineligible process”.
A workfellow of Loera-Gomez astatine LGB5, who remains employed by Amazon and requested to stay anonymous for fearfulness of retaliation, said that if workers are wounded connected nan job, they are sent to AmCare – which they compared to nan balanced of a schoolhouse nurse.
“They only springiness you an crystal battalion aliases water,” nan worker said. “You can’t get capable thief astatine AmCare. My acquisition astatine AmCare, they’ll effort to support you location for nan longest clip because they want you to spell backmost to work, they will do everything successful their powerfulness to not fto you spell home.”
AmCare won’t log reports, they claimed, until it’s wholly evident a worker cannot return to work. “Amazon really, really likes it erstwhile their wounded complaint looks low, truthful they will do their champion and not person injuries logged,” nan worker said.
Amazon denied nan worker’s allegations. “This is false,” Stephenson said. “Ensuring our labor person entree to onsite first-aid and to their attraction of prime is incredibly important to america because nan information of our squad and our partners is our apical priority.”
“This isn’t an isolated incident,” said Lauren Teukolsky, nan lawyer representing Loera-Gomez. “It looks to maine there’s a beautiful clear shape of this occurring successful Amazon warehouses.”
The suit is 1 of respective caller cases related to Amazon’s wounded rates.
Lashone Brown, who lives successful Las Vegas, Nevada, revenge a suit successful February alleging that he was fired while recuperating astatine location from room for 2 work-related hernias he suffered astatine Amazon. The patient has besides disputed this lawsuit, and its allegations.
In California, a trial began successful January 2026 complete a suit revenge by respective erstwhile Amazon workers complete power conditions crossed its warehouses. Amazon did not remark connected nan circumstantial allegations, but Stephenson said: “The wellness and information of our labor and partners is our highest priority, and our power prevention and mitigation policies and practices transcend authorities and national guidance.”
Earth’s safest spot to work?
For years, elected officials, authorities and national authorities agencies, workers and labour groups person looked intimately astatine Amazon’s wounded rates, and really injured workers are treated. The institution has many times denied and dismissed criticism.
It claimed successful 2016 that improved grounds keeping resulted successful wounded complaint increases. It claimed successful 2018 that wounded rates were precocious because nan institution was fierce astir signaling injuries, and blimpish successful allowing injured workers to return to work.
In 2019, Amazon’s superior wounded complaint reported to nan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) deed 7.7 per 100 employees, astir double nan manufacture mean – and nan institution now uses that twelvemonth arsenic a benchmark to tout their information progress, and declining rates. Amazon said successful an email that it does this “because 2019 – dissimilar 2020 – was a twelvemonth of normal operations”.
Amazon’s wounded rates declined successful 2020, earlier expanding again successful 2021, past decreasing successful consequent years. They stay supra storage manufacture averages.
In 2021, nan company’s founder, Jeff Bezos, pledged successful a missive to shareholders to go Earth’s safest spot to work. The institution set a goal to trim its wounded rates successful half successful 2025.
Even by Amazon’s own numbers, it seems to person fallen short. In 2021, nan institution reported a US recordable incident complaint (RIR) of 7.6 per 100 employees. In 2025, it reported a complaint of 5.
In 2024, Amazon employed 39% of US storage workers but accounted for 56% of each superior injuries successful nan industry, according to nan Strategic Organizing Center.
Amazon has disputed nan reports by specified groups, and questioned their methodology, while these reports person successful move criticized Amazon’s ain reports and methodology.
When a December 2024 Senate report recovered that Amazon “manipulates its workplace wounded information to represent its warehouses arsenic safer than they really are”, Amazon disputed nan study and its methodology.
Stephenson, nan Amazon spokesperson, said: “The reality is that nothing’s much important than nan information of our employees, we’ve invested much than $2.5bn successful information programs complete nan past six years, and we’ve seen nan results: including a 43% simplification successful our world recordable incident complaint since 2019, which includes immoderate work-related wounded that requires much than basal first-aid.”
Workplace information nether Trump
Osha, arsenic nan national authorities agency connected workplace safety, launched its first multisite investigation successful much than a decade amid interest complete nan conditions wrong Amazon’s warehouse.
But successful December 2024, successful nan last weeks of nan Biden management pursuing Trump’s predetermination victory, Osha and Amazon reached a settlement to resoluteness aggregate hazardous moving conditions cases. It covered Amazon sites nationwide and included ongoing meetings and assessments of nan company’s progress.
Among nan factors that prompted nan agency to scope a colony was Bezos’s determination to artifact nan Washington Post, his newspaper, from endorsing Kamala Harris for nan presidency, a erstwhile Osha charismatic successful nan Biden management said. Times were changing. “It was a consideration,” they said.
The colony was announced arsenic portion of a thrust “to thief amended protect labor from hazardous moving conditions starring to superior little backmost and different musculoskeletal disorders”. Amazon’s acknowledgment of this problem had varied complete time, and nan institution had been very delicate to nan issue, nan erstwhile Osha charismatic said. “The colony acknowledges a overmuch longer-term process of fixing things that is not going to hap overnight.”
A spokesperson for nan Department of Labor said Osha and Amazon had held “biannual meetings” to talk nan colony “and further topics specified arsenic nan position of aviator projects and controls intended to reside ergonomic risks”, but did not supply further accusation connected Amazon’s progress.
The colony did not impact an investigation by nan confederate territory of New York astatine nan US Department of Justice that began nether nan Biden administration. The justness section did not respond to aggregate requests to corroborate whether nan investigation continues nether Trump. The precocious fired US lawyer general, Pam Bondi, was registered arsenic a lobbyist for Amazon successful 2020 and 2021.
Osha conducted 20% less inspections from April to September 2025, compared pinch nan aforesaid play successful 2024. Workplace wellness and information penalties person dropped 45% nether nan Trump administration.
Amazon donated $1m to Trump’s inaugural money earlier Trump’s return to office, compared pinch $58,000 it gave to Trump’s inauguration successful 2017, and $276,509 it gave to Biden’s inaugural money successful 2021. It besides faced questions complete its acquisition of a documentary connected Melania Trump, nan first lady. “We’ve been a institution crossed 5 administrations and we ever effort to person a collaborative narration pinch each management and policymakers of each levels of government,” said Stephenson, nan Amazon spokesperson.
