For a number of workers in Pennsylvania, their working environment left them with symptoms that included light-headedness, cramped legs, and dehydration. These workers were employed at the Amazon warehouse in Lehigh Valley.
Workers who are injured on the job often find themselves with increasing financial challenges. In some instances, whether it is a serious injury or a work-related illness, the cost of medical treatment as well as wages lost during the recovery period can leave workers in debt. Workers’ compensation benefits can help employees who have been hurt in a work accident.
Many of these Amazon factory workers may need to consider workers’ compensation benefits if they are unable to return to work. According to several employees, the conditions inside the warehouse were unsafe, especially during the hot summer months.
It was reported that temperatures inside the warehouse were unbearable, leaving workers dehydrated and suffering from heat exhaustion. Several employees were brought out of the building on stretchers and brought to hospitals centers.
Earlier this summer, OSHA began looking into the complaints about the warehouse; one complaint told of temperatures in the triple digits, causing more than a dozen workers to pass out. These complaints did not just come from the warehouse workers. One doctor from a nearby hospital reported to OSHA that he had seen a lot of patients come in with heat-related injuries, all workers at the warehouse.
Several fans were installed in the warehouse to promote air movement. But is that enough? Are workers still suffering from these types of work environments?
Source: Allentown Morning Call: “Inside Amazon’s warehouse,” Spencer Soper, Sept. 17, 2011