Amazon Hiring Record Number Of Employees

Seattle, WA (WorkersCompensation.com) – As of Feb. 5, Amazon was hiring more than 37,000 positions in everything from hourly warehouse workers to management.

And of those, more than 300 were related to workers’ compensation.

From hiring workers’ compensation claims managers to fraud and abuse analysts looking into workers’ compensation to warehouse manager with experience filling out workers’ compensation paperwork and OSHA logs, Amazon is expanding its workers’ compensation forces globally.

Amazon, the second largest employer in the country, has come under fire recently for dangerous conditions in its warehouses. A recent report in Reveal, the publication of the Center for Investigative Reporting, found that injury rates in some Amazon warehouses are as much as 7 times the national average. In Troutdale, Ore., the injury rate for the Amazon warehouse there was 25.87 per 100 full-time employees in 2018.

Amazon has said repeatedly that its injury rates appear to be higher than average because they are so diligent about recording injuries, regardless of whether or not they are work-related. In their opinion, others in the industry drastically under-report on-the-job injuries.

“You’re seeing this in the rates because we take an abundance of caution in not placing employees with work restrictions back at work before they are ready,” a spokesperson for Amazon said in a statement earlier this year. “We know that by making a conservative choice to not place an injured associate back into a job before permitted by their work restrictions, we are increasing lost time as a company, but with the intent to benefit the associate.”

Amazon did not immediately respond to questions about the high number of workers’ compensation related hires from WorkersCompensation.com.

Nearly 300 of the new positions are for medical, health and safety personnel. From EHS specialists, WHS Specialists to senior ergonomists, these positions are responsible for the health and safety of Amazon workers. More than 70 of those positions were for onsite medical representatives who provide medical assistance to any employee injured on the job inside the company’s warehouses.

“The Onsite Medical Representative (OMR) will serve as the site’s designated first aid provider in the warehouse, coordinating and implementing the Amazon Global Program. The OMR will provide first aid care to injured employees, actively analyze tasks for potential issues, participate in the Workers’ Compensation process, and recommend appropriate risk mitigation measures to management,” the company said on its jobs website. “The OMR will function as a part of the larger team onsite, helping to provide assistance with all health needs. This includes attending weekly associate committee meetings, greeting all new hires for the site, either within a group setting at New Hire Orientation or through one-on-one interaction. The OMR will also participate, as needed, in incident investigations and weekly case management review meetings.”

Minimum qualifications for the OMR include valid basic EMT certification, 2 years’ experience providing emergency services in a pre-hospital setting, CPR certification and a high school diploma or equivalent. Preferred qualifications included a bachelor’s degree and experience with managing a team and experience with workers’ compensation claims and regulations, and “29 CFR 1910,” the OSHA regulations covering labor safety and health standards.

In the human resources department, Amazon is looking for everything from workers’ compensation managers to escalations investigators to a Leave and Disability Master Consultant/Trainer.

The leave and disability master consultant/trainer will “will contribute deep subject matter expertise to Leave and Disability initiatives around training and development. The main area of focus will be developing and conducting product and service training programs, supporting operational performance and product development and implementing continuous improvements. As a thought-leader, this position will collaborate closely with key business stakeholders, internal and external partners, and Leave and Disability program leaders to ensure the program is successful.” The position works with teams in the U.S., Costa Rica and India, the company said.

Amazon employed an estimated 798,000 full- and part-time employees in 2019, not including independent contractors – such as delivery drivers.

Job listings are available at amazon.jobs.

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