Amazon reconsiders warehouse cellphone ban after tornado

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ( OSHA ) has launched an investigation into the warehouse collapse, according to a Labor Department spokesperson . Amazon is reconsidering plans to reinstate a ban on cellphones in its warehouses in light of the emergence of new Covid-19 strains and the deaths of six workers last week after a tornado struck the area .

For years, Amazon banned employees from leaving their phones on warehouse floors, requiring them to leave them in their cars or in lockers near break rooms.

That rule was temporarily relaxed during the pandemic but was scheduled to be reinstated in January, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg . Now the company’s thinking on the issue is “fluid,” according to a person familiar with the situation.

An Amazon spokeswoman said company policy currently allows all Amazon employees and delivery drivers to use their phones during their shifts. But several workers in different states told Bloomberg that their managers had reinstated the ban.

The deadly collapse at an Edwardsville warehouse near St. Louis, Illinois, amplified concerns among blue-collar workers about the reinstatement of phone bans in work zones.

Five Amazon employees, including two who work across the street from the collapsed building, said they hoped to get information, such as updates on potentially deadly weather events, on their smartphones. They said the phones could also help them communicate with emergency responders or loved ones if they were trapped.

" OSHA has had compliance officers at the complex since Saturday, December 11, to assist," the spokesperson said. "OSHA has six months to complete its investigation, issue citations and propose fines if violations of workplace safety and/or health regulations are found."

Separately, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker on Monday questioned whether building codes need to be updated to address risks posed by increasing severe storms as investigators analyzed the cause of a deadly collapse at an Amazon.com Inc warehouse in the state late last week.

"The investigation will look at whether Amazon warehouses complied with existing regulations , " Pritzker said Monday at a news conference in Edwardsville, near St. Louis .

Amazon

storehouse

tornado