Safeway Fined $26K for Violations of New WA Worker Regulations
Not long ago a new set of warehouse safety and workers protection laws went into effect in WA State, now Labor and Industries has issued fines for the first time.
Safeway's warehouse in Auburn gets fined.
L-I has begun making the rounds to the distribution centers and warehouses for various vendors, including Safeway, Amazon, Walmart and others.
Last July, in 2024, the new laws concerning worker's quotas went into effect, but this is the first time, said L-I, that they have found violations.
According to inspectors:
"L&I’s investigation found that the Safeway distribution center in Auburn often tracks its workers restroom, meal, and rest breaks, movements, and other activities down to the minute to enforce strict and frequently changing production quotas."
L-I says the laws are designed so that worker safety and rights are not interfered with by quotas.
The new laws state that a business must make quotas clear and attainable for workers, and must update if the quotas change. They must also ensure the quotas allow legally mandated time for breaks, meals, bathroom breaks, and travel time to and from the bathroom across the warehouse.
The law also says a worker cannot be reprimanded for failing to meet a quota if it was not clearly made clear to them.
Safeway has appealed the two fines, which total $26,000.
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