A New York law aiming to reduce injuries in Amazon warehouses is well-positioned to become a model for other states, although it’s not entirely safe from an industry-led legal challenge.
The state is set to impose new workplace ergonomics requirements on large warehouse operators this year under a measure (S5081C) Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed into law in 2024. Hochul struck a deal with legislators to soon revise the law to loosen the definition of an ergonomics expert who’s qualified to conduct site safety assessments.
It’s the latest in a string of state and federal efforts to address concerns over higher-than-average injury rates at warehouses in general and Amazon facilities specifically.
Workplace safety lawyers disagree about the potential for the New York law to be preempted by federal authority. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration doesn’t have a federal ergonomics standard, so the state has leeway to enact tougher standards and enforcement mechanisms than what OSHA currently has on the hazard, said Michael Duff, a professor at St. Louis University School of Law.
He described this concept as “empty preemption"—when federal law, which preempts the state law, is either weak or says nothing substantive at all.
“It’s only logical that states would try to find a way out of the OSHA lockbox,” Duff said, since the OSH Act is weak.
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