Risks for Warehouse Workers on the Rise

Warehouse workers in Arizona may face serious safety risks on the job, especially as automation becomes a more omnipresent factor. A growing number of workers are employed in the warehouse sector, especially as online sales continue to dominate the retail market. While Amazon is the best-known of the online warehouse giants, many other companies rely on fulfillment centers to package and send out their customers’ orders. With swift shipping being a major selling point relied upon by these companies, employees may face greater pressure to work faster, and safety may suffer as a result. While automation is touted as increasing efficiency, safety regulations have largely not caught up to technological developments in the industry.

In addition, warehouse jobs often are heavily surveilled and monitored with intense targets for productivity. Fewer workers need to handle more packages more swiftly. Managers may be tasked both with overseeing safety and productivity, and safety may lose out all too frequently. Workers may be pushed to ignore safety concerns in order to ship more packages, and managers may seek to save time and resources by brushing aside minor workplace accidents rather than fully reporting and investigating incidents. In some cases, warehouse environments may run afoul of federal workplace safety regulations promulgated by OSHA.

With heavy equipment and fast-paced work, warehouses can present serious hazards. Boxes and clutter may develop quickly in the aisles of a warehouse, leading to slip-and-fall accidents or crashes involving autonomous forklifts. Workers often stand, sit, lift and carry items, all of which can lead to serious injuries or repetitive motion stress.

When warehouse workers are hurt in workplace accidents, they may lose their ability to work for a long time to come. A workers’ compensation attorney may help injured workers to seek the compensation they need and pursue justice for ongoing safety violations.