GAO Raises Alarm on Warehouse, Delivery Injuries

Serious injury rates in warehousing and package delivery grew “significantly faster” than the rate across industries between 2018 and 2022, according to the Government Accountability Office.
In a report — “OSHA Should Take Steps to Better Identify and Address Ergonomic Hazards at Warehouses and Delivery Companies” — publicly released on Tuesday, the agency said the biggest hazards these workers faced were musculoskeletal injuries and strains from overexertion and repetitive motions.
It said that employers’ real-time monitoring of worker productivity rates in warehouses and delivery vans could be a contributing factor.
“Employers’ use of technology that increases productivity may harm workers through encouraging worker overexertion and unsafe movements,” the report said.
GAO has made five recommendations, including that OSHA improve its injury data, training, and guidance on ergonomic hazards, and evaluate its inspection program.
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A joint news investigation of rising case numbers of silicosis in Latino workers has won top honors for business reporting, in the Annual Barlett and Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism.
Public Health Watch, KPCC/Laist and Univision conducted an investigation of the Southern California workplace impact of the recent popularity of artificial stone countertops following a tip about exponentially rising case numbers of the lung disease in Latino workers.
Their initial publication not only uncovered the problem, the cause, and the massive fallout, but spurred legislative action on the state and federal levels.
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