In January 2024, the Staten Island Advance reported that a labor coalition had labeled two Staten Island Amazon warehouses as dangerous places to work. It was not the first report to single out the giant buildings on the West Shore, and it has not been the last.
Thousands of people from all five boroughs and New Jersey work in those buildings. This post looks at what the injury reports have found, why fulfillment work produces so many injuries, and what you should do if you are hurt at work there.
What the injury reports have found
Employers must report serious workplace injuries to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and labor groups have analyzed Amazon’s numbers year after year. Among the findings:
- Nationally, 2024: the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of labor unions, found that Amazon’s warehouse injury rate was 66 percent higher than the rate at non-Amazon warehouses, and its rate of serious injuries, 5.9 per 100 workers, was almost double (May 2025 report).
- New York, 2022: the National Employment Law Project found that Amazon warehouse and logistics workers in the state were injured at a rate of 8.2 cases per 100 workers, compared with 6.9 at non-Amazon facilities (City & State).
Amazon disputes these comparisons. The company says the “serious injury” measure the reports rely on is misleading, because it counts any injury that could lead to time away from work or restricted duty, and it says the safety of its employees is its top priority.
Whatever the right way to count, the practical point for workers is the same: injuries in these buildings are common, and many of them are the kind that build up over months rather than happen in one moment.
Why fulfillment work produces so many injuries
- Repetition at a set pace. Picking, stowing and packing mean the same reach, twist and lift thousands of times a shift.
- Long shifts and peak seasons. Mandatory extra time around the holidays and sales events adds hours to bodies that are already tired.
- Lifting and overhead work. Totes, heavy items and high shelves load the back, neck and shoulders.
- Moving equipment. Forklifts, carts and conveyors share space with people on foot.
The injuries that follow are familiar to anyone who handles these cases: shoulder injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, back and neck injuries, and knee problems from hours on concrete floors.
If you are hurt at JFK8, LDJ5 or another West Shore warehouse
Workers’ compensation covers you from your first shift, whether you were hurt in one accident or worn down over time. A few things trip people up again and again:
- Reporting is not filing. Telling a manager, stopping at the on-site first aid station or logging an incident internally is not a workers’ comp claim. Give written notice within 30 days and make sure a claim is filed with the Workers’ Compensation Board.
- First aid is not your doctor. In most claims you can choose your own Board-authorized doctor. Here is how to find one.
- A leave of absence is not workers’ comp. It is easy to end up on short-term disability for an injury that belongs in a comp claim, where the benefits and protections are different.
- You cannot be fired for filing. But the comp law alone does not hold your job open while you are out. Read how long your employer has to hold your job.
We cover all of this, including what to say at the first aid station and what to do if a staffing agency placed you in the building, on our page about warehouse and fulfillment center injuries.
New York’s warehouse worker law
Since June 2023, New York’s Warehouse Worker Protection Act has required large warehouse employers to tell workers in writing about any production quotas they are expected to meet, and it bars quotas that prevent workers from taking meal, rest or bathroom breaks. If a quota contributed to your injury, the written description of it can matter in your case. Ask for it, and keep a copy.
Talk to a New York workers’ compensation attorney
The Law Offices of Frank J. Dito, Jr. handles workers’ compensation claims from the office on Staten Island, a short drive from the West Shore warehouses, for injured workers throughout the five boroughs and across New York State. You can sign up without coming to the office.
Call 718.701.2776 or 800.310.5520. Consultations are free. If we don’t recover money for you, we don’t get paid.
Sources
- Staten Island Advance, January 2024
- Strategic Organizing Center, “Failure to Deliver,” May 2025
- City & State New York, May 2023, on the National Employment Law Project report
