Editor’s note: This story has been updated to remove a photo of an unaffected Amazon facility.
AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — An Amazon fulfillment center in Aurora was fined $15,625 for a “serious” Occupational Safety and Health Administration violation.
The citation from the U.S. Department of Labor said the Amazon Sortation Center at 19799 E 36th Dr. failed to “furnish a place of employment” free from hazards that could cause injuries.
Specifically, employees were “required to perform repetitive lifting and carrying, bending” and other actions that might cause musculoskeletal disorders.
Examples of musculoskeletal disorders include sprains, back pain and carpal tunnel syndrome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Amazon will be able to contest the violation. If it does not, the $15,000 is due 15 days after it received the letter about the citation. Amazon is expected to appeal.
This is the second time in two months that the Amazon center in Aurora has been cited and fined for OSHA violations.
In mid-December, the Amazon center was fined $4,144 for failing to record worker injuries.
That citation said several employees experienced injuries while at work, and those injuries were not properly recorded in OSHA forms.
Two other Amazon locations, in Nampa, Idaho, and Castleton, New York, were also fined for similar serious violations. In all, OSHA proposed $46,875 in fines for the violations at the three facilities.
In a statement sent to FOX31 Thursday morning, spokesperson Kelly Nantel said the company is cooperating with the investigation.
“We take the safety and health of our employees very seriously, and we don’t believe the government’s allegations reflect the reality of safety at our sites. We’ve cooperated with the government through its investigation and have demonstrated how we work to mitigate risks and keep our people safe, and our publicly available data show we reduced injury rates in the U.S. nearly 15% between 2019 and 2021. We also know there will always be more to do, and we’ll continue working to get better every day,” the statement said.
