Sacramento Amazon facility under government investigation after worker’s death

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating Amazon’s recently opened Sacramento fulfillment center after an employee’s death last week.

The employee was hospitalized after vomiting blood on Dec. 14, Cal-OSHA spokesman Frank Polizzi said, and died the next day. He had yet to be identified as of 1 p.m. Thursday.

Under state law, Cal-OSHA can investigate and issue citations for safety regulation violations if enforcers suspect the incident was work-related. The agency has six months to complete its investigation, which began last Friday after the man’s death.

Packing and shipping continued as normal at the work site after Cal-OSHA concluded the remaining workers were not in immediate danger, Polizzi said.

The 855,000-square-foot center opened on Oct. 25 in Metro Air Park next to Sacramento International Airport. A month later, employees filed a class-action lawsuit saying they had been denied rest breaks and overtime pay.

In a statement Thursday, Amazon said, “An employee experienced a personal medical incident. Our thoughts go out to his family and loved ones.” The company declined to comment further, citing employee and family privacy policies.

This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Sacramento Amazon facility under government investigation after worker’s death."