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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Technology
Michael Sainato

‘Get back to work’: Amazon faces fresh scrutiny over workplace safety record

Amazon packages being handled and transported, and exterior view of Amazon warehouse.
‘They only give you an ice pack or water,’ an Amazon worker said of AmCare, the company’s in-house first aid unit. Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

Amazon, one of the world’s largest employers, has for years faced scrutiny over its safety record. When Billy Foister, a 48-year-old worker, died after a heart attack inside one of the tech giant’s warehouses in September 2019, managers were accused of telling staff to “get back to work”.

When another worker died this month at a distribution center in Troutdale, Oregon, an Amazon spokesperson claimed they had collapsed from an “existing medical issue”. They denied a report that a nearby employee was told: “Please get back to work.”

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