Three Workers Dead- Investigations n Scrutiny On Amazon's Workplace-Safety Procedures

Within the past month three Amazon workers died at New Jersey company facilities.  Following a third fatality during the company's annual Prime Day shopping event in mid-July  the Federal work-safety investigators are looking into the death of an

Amazon worker and an injury that potentially led to the death of another employee, adding to a probe already underway

According to report, the new Occupational Health and Safety Administration investigations are putting fresh scrutiny on Amazon's injury rates and workplace-safety procedures, which have long been criticized by labor and safety advocates as inadequate.

Department of Labor spokesperson Denisha Braxton confirmed Thursday that the most-recent fatality took place last week at an Amazon facility in Monroe Township, about 20 miles (35 kilometers) northeast of Trenton. The second probe is looking into a July 24 accident at an Amazon facility in Robbinsville. The worker involved in that accident died three days later, according to Braxton.

In a statement, Robbinsville Police Chief Michael Polaski said police responded to the warehouse, called PNE5, on July 24 after receiving a report that a worker fell from a three-foot (one-meter) ladder and struck his head.

Polaski said the worker was conscious and alert when police arrived. But police were told CPR was conducted on the person by other workers prior to their arrival, he said. The person was transported to a hospital and OSHA was notified of the incident on the same day, he added.

Police in Monroe Township didn’t immediately reply for a request for comment on the incident there. 

The two most recent deaths were first reported by the USA Today Network. 

OSHA officials declined to provide additional information about any of the deaths, citing the open investigations. The agency has up to six month to complete each probe. 

Sam Stephenson, a spokesperson for Seattle-based Amazon, said in a statement the company was “deeply saddened by the passing of our colleagues and offer our condolences to their family and friends.”