Washington fines Amazon over risk of worker injury at Kent warehouse
KENT, Wash. — The Washington state Department of Labor & Industries said this week it has fined Amazon $60,000 for “knowingly putting workers at risk of injury” at a Kent fulfillment center.
L&I ergonomists found that workers were required to perform repetitive, physical work like twisting, lifting, and carrying at “such a fast pace” that it increased the risk of injury, KING-TV reported.
The tasks “have caused, and are likely to continue to cause musculoskeletal disorders of the low back,” according to an L&I inspection.
The infraction was classified as a “willful serious violation” because of three similar violations at two other Amazon fulfillment centers in Washington, according to L&I. Amazon has appealed those alleged findings and citations.
“The company has not yet made necessary changes to improve workplace safety and has consistently denied the association between pace of work and injury rates,” L&I wrote in a statement.
An Amazon representative said L&I’s latest report is not accurate and the company also plans to appeal that citation.
“We strongly disagree with L&I’s claims and don’t believe they are supported by the facts,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said.
In all three of the previous complaints, L&I inspections found a “direct connection” between Amazon’s employee monitoring and discipline systems and workplace musculoskeletal disorders.
Omicron subvariant found in 25% of cases tested at UW lab
SEATTLE — Health officials say the subvariant of omicron known as BA.2 accounts for about one-fourth of COVID-19 cases sequenced in Washington.
The Seattle Times reported the subvariant has steadily spread in the state, and across the country and Europe, but researchers are hopeful any potential wave of the new strain won’t cause as many infections, hospitalizations and deaths as the original version of the variant did.
The new subvariant, which emerged in the United Kingdom in December, was identified in Washington in January and has remained at fairly low levels since then, state epidemiologist Dr. Scott Lindquist said last week. Now early data from the state Department of Health and the UW Medicine clinical virology lab show the proportion of cases involving the variant has increased over the past month or so.
“It’s been sort of slowly creeping up over the last six weeks,” Alex Greninger, assistant director of UW Medicine’s virology lab and an assistant professor of lab medicine and pathology, said in a Tuesday statement.
While virologists don’t yet have a clear timeline for a potential rise in cases, Greninger encouraged residents to pay attention to their local COVID-19 trends and assured people that vaccinations — particularly booster shots — will continue to protect against severe infection.
Officials investigate two deaths at Franklin County Jail in Pasco
PASCO — A second inmate in a month has died at the Franklin County jail.
An autopsy was conducted Tuesday after a 42-year-old Othello woman was found dead in her cell in the Pasco jail last week. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner is trying to determine why Faviola Valenzuela died on March 15, said Franklin County Coroner Curtis McGary.
Valenzuela was brought to the jail the previous weekend, Sheriff Jim Raymond told the Tri-City Herald. On Tuesday, another inmate told jail officials that Valenzuela was having a medical problem, Raymond said. An officer found she had died.
Raymond didn’t know why she was taken into custody, but said there were mental health concerns. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is investigating her death, and the information will be provided to the prosecutor’s office and the county’s insurance company.
Thomas Franklin collapsed in the booking area of the jail on Feb. 22. He was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland and died the next day. Blood test results are pending. The sheriff’s office is also investigating that death. Franklin was being booked in on out-of-state warrants at the time.
Tap water returns to Warm Springs reservation but with boil water notice
WARM SPRINGS, Ore. — After several days, water service on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in north central Oregon is resuming, although with an indefinite boil water notice.
Community radio station KWSO announced that repairs on a damaged electrical transformer at the water treatment plant finished Tuesday, allowing the Agency Water System to resume distribution, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported .
When a fire was discovered in the transformer Friday, officials and residents were concerned the damage could lead to an extended water outage but the damage was not as extensive as initially thought.
The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs is also offering bottled water at the emergency management office until the boil water notice lifts, which is likely to be sometime next week.
It’s the latest chapter in years of issues with the reservation’s aging water system.
