Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., introduced new legislation Thursday aimed at regulating the use of productivity quotas by warehouse employers as Amazona tool that critics say encourages employees to work faster and without frequent breaks, putting them at higher risk of injury.
The bill, called the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, is the first attempt to control warehouse quotas at the federal level, after similar laws were passed in states including California, New York, Washington and Minnesota.
The legislation would require employers to be more transparent about workplace quotas and potential disciplinary consequences, and provide workers with at least two business days’ notice of any changes to quotas or workplace monitoring.
It also aims to prohibit companies from using “harmful quotas” like “time off,” an oft-scrutinized metric used by Amazon to measure the amount of time a worker doesn’t scan items while on the job. Employees have argued that the leave policy makes working conditions more arduous and is used as a tool to monitor workers.
“Amazon has developed a punitive quota system that pushes workers beyond their physical limits,” said Markey, a member of the House Committee on Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee. Health, Education, Work and Pensions (HELP). announcing the bill.
“They set requirements for how many packages workers must scan without telling workers what those requirements are. Then they fire workers who fail to win their impossible game,” Markey added.
Amazon’s use of quotas in its warehouse and delivery operations has been a frequent topic of debate alongside increased scrutiny of the safety of its frontline workers. The company, which is the second-largest private employer in the United States, has previously said it does not use fixed quotas, but relies on “performance expectations” that take into account several indicators, such as the behavior of certain teams on a site. efficient. Claims that employees don’t get enough breaks are also disputed.
Yet some Amazon warehouse workers say the company’s productivity quotas are opaque and often determined by algorithms, and that they risk disciplinary action or firing if they don’t meet them. Last year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations against Amazon for exposing its employees to safety hazards, and pointed to its work pace as a contributing factor.
OSHA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office are investigating conditions at several warehouses, while the U.S. Department of Justice is examining whether Amazon is underreporting injuries. Amazon said it disagrees with the DOJ and OSHA’s allegations.
Wendy Taylor, a packer at an Amazon warehouse in Missouri, said during Markey’s news conference Thursday that she and others are “fighting for quota transparency.” Taylor said last March that she “tripped and fell flat on her face” on a pallet, but was ordered to return to work by on-site medical staff. Her doctor later discovered that she had torn her meniscus in the fall.
Taylor blamed Amazon’s “inhumane work rates” for the injury and added: “Amazon workers provide same-day shipping, but we can’t even get the same-day care we deserve.” »
WATCH: Safety risks for Amazon workers come under fire from regulators and DOJ
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