Are the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) whistleblower protection laws really helping whistleblowers? Contractors and subcontractors at a partially completed Amazon warehouse in Fort Worth talked to Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, about their experiences with safety hazards and hesitancy to speak out.
Employees at the warehouse spoke to Stateline anonymously for fear of retaliation but said that “supply chain issues and other COVID-19-related delays put the warehouse construction behind schedule.” The employees said that these delays caused neglect of safety standards: workers were working without safety harnesses, “welders used plasma torches while surrounded by flammable cardboard boxes, and laborers raised metal racks alongside a moving forklift, putting their feet in danger of being crushed,” the article states. Stateline reports that “Amazon did not respond to multiple requests for comment.”
“Everyone that’s spoken up has been fired for holding up production,” a contractor told Stateline. “It’s going to sound bad, but whistleblowing is not going to pay my bills.”
The article cites experts who say federal and state agencies responsible for “enforcing workplace safety” rely on whistleblower complaints but are short-staffed, thus causing delays in investigations into allegations. “Advocates say the delays and the stigma associated with whistleblowing dissuade most workers who witness unsafe conditions from...
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