California labor officials fined Amazon $5.9 million for violating a state law aimed at preventing warehouse workers from being pushed to work so quickly that their health and safety are at risk, according to citations issued in May.
California investigated two Amazon facilities near Los Angeles and in May found that the company failed to “provide written notice of quotas to which each employee is subject,” according to a copy of the citation shared with The Washington Post by the Warehouse Worker Resource Center, a nonprofit that advocates for improving working conditions at warehouses. The labor agency levied fines of $1.2 million at one Ontario, Calif., Amazon facility, and $4.7 million at another nearby.
Amazon, the second-largest private employer in the United States, has long been criticized for the pace of work in its fulfillment centers and delivery stations. It is under investigation byAmazon is the third company in California to be hit with fines under this law, joining Sysco and Dollar General, which were fined $318,000 and $1.3 million in October and November, respectively, according to copies of the citations shared with The Post.