Amazon and Tesla Are Among the Most Dangerous Places to Work

Amazon and Tesla, two of the largest corporations in the United States, are also two of the deadliest places to work in the nation, Investopedia reports. This is according to the National Council for Occupation Safety and Health’s annual “Dirty Dozen” list, which evaluates safety and danger in factories and warehouses around the country. In order to make it to this dubious list, the company’s workers must have been exposed to “unnecessary and preventable risk,” have a repeated history of risky practices and have received several citations from state and federal workplace safety officials.

Amazon and Tesla Criticized

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, which is a safety advocacy group, says in Amazon alone, seven workers have been killed in warehouses during the past five years with three of the deaths within a five-week span at three different locations. Amazon workers suffer injuries, some of which are fatal, in a work environment where there is a relentless demand to fill orders and where workers are closely monitored to make sure they fulfill those requirements. The council also pointed to Amazon’s interest in ultrasonic wristbands, which track whether workers are correctly performing their jobs. The wristbands would “buzz” a worker’s wrist if he or she “makes a movement in the wrong direction.”

Tesla also received a stinging assessment from the council, which referred to it as “a company of the future under working conditions of the past. The group notes that injuries at Tesla are 31 percent higher than the industry average while serious injuries are 83 percent higher. Tesla says it has seen a reduction in injuries over the past year. But the council argues that an independent investigation has shown that Tesla hasn’t really reported all serious worker injuries.

Worker Safety is Crucial

Under state and federal laws, employers have a legal responsibility to provide a safe and humane working environment for all their employees. It is unacceptable for these corporations that are raking in billions of dollars in profits year after year to expose their workers to substandard and unsafe conditions.

If you are a worker who is being exposed to unsafe conditions at the workplace, please understand that you have legal rights. You have the right to report the unsafe conditions to the authorities. You have a right not to be retaliated against for blowing the whistle on your employer. If you have been injured in a workplace accident, please file a report with your supervisor or employer immediately. They cannot intimidate you or tell you not to file a claim. You can seek workers’ compensation benefits for medical expenses and a portion of lost wages. For more information about your rights as an employee, contact us.

Source: https://www.investopedia.com/news/amazon-tesla-among-most-dangerous-workers/