As worker injuries increase, advocates push Hochul to sign warehouse safety bill

New numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that warehouse injuries are on the rise in New York, as advocates await action from Gov. Kathy Hochul on legislation that would impose more safety oversight at warehouses.

The numbers were analyzed in a report released on Thursday by the National Employment Law Project. According to the report, warehouse workers were injured at a rate of 11.5 out of 100 last year, compared to 8.8 out of 100 in 2022. That equates to one injury per nine workers in New York in 2023, and a 30% increase in injuries year over year. The latest numbers represent a stark increase compared to six years prior, when the rate of injury was just 3.6 out of 100 full-time workers. According to the report, warehouse workers in New York were injured at twice the national rate last year. 

The report, which was released in partnership with the New Yorkers for a Fair Economy Coalition, also found that the number of serious injuries has increased. In 2017, only 60% of injuries required warehouse workers to miss days or require a transfer. By 2023, 90% of injuries did. “This is absolutely a five alarm fire for New York state,” said Irene Tung, senior researcher and policy analyst at NELP.

The increased rate of injury could be attributed to the fast growth of warehouse jobs in New York due to the rise of e-commerce. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of people working in warehouses in the state increased by 14%, while overall job growth only increased by 5%. Tung described the growth as “explosive,” but said that the state hasn’t kept up in terms of safety regulations. “The warehousing industry has seen dramatic changes, but really, safety protections for workers have just not caught up,” Tung said. “Warehouses are set up to get products out fast, and safety has gone by the wayside, and so we're seeing warehouse workers getting seriously hurt.”

The report – co-signed by coalition members Alliance for a Greater New York, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and Teamsters Joint Council 16 – calls on Hochul to sign the Warehouse Worker Injury Reduction Act, which was passed by the state Legislature but has not yet been delivered to the governor’s desk. The bill would require employers to establish a program to reduce musculoskeletal injuries in warehouses, including by bringing in specialists to assess what changes need to be made to ensure safety. “It would also establish industry-wide safety standards and improve training for workers and improve on-site access to medical care, and would empower the Department of Labor to actually enforce and implement the Act,” Tung said.

The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Jessica Ramos, chair of the Senate Labor Committee and a candidate for New York City mayor. “We know that the holiday shopping season results in serious spikes in warehouse worker injuries, and New York has the most severe injury rates in the country,” Ramos said in a statement. “Gov. Hochul showed she can lead on worker safety when she signed the Warehouse Worker Protection Act. I remain hopeful that we can work together and finish the job before the year ends.”

A spokesperson for Hochul said that she is currently reviewing the legislation.