Six Georgia state lawmakers will introduce a new bill Monday curbing work-speed quotas in warehouses, the latest state effort to crack down on injuries among workers at industry giants like Amazon.
The Georgia Warehouse Workplace Protection Act (HB 16) would limit the use of work speed data, require the implementation of ergonomic measures to reduce musculoskeletal injuries, and institute paid rest breaks—among other requirements.
Rep. Kim Schofield (D-63), who will introduce the bill alongside several Democratic colleagues, said Georgia has the opportunity to lead the South in creating safer workplaces.
United for Respect, a worker advocacy organization, backed the bill by state Senator Nan Orrock (D) and state representatives Schofield (D-63), Dewey McClain (D-109), Sandra Scott (D-76), Viola Davis (D-87), and Lydia Glaize (D-67).
“This legislation sends a clear message that the lives and dignity of Georgia’s warehouse workers cannot be sacrificed for corporate profit,” Betty Kates, an associate at Amazon’s ATL6 facility in Atlanta, said.
Georgia isn’t alone in its attempt to focus on worker safety in warehouses. The state joins a broader trend among states that are looking to enact tougher standards and enforcement mechanisms on ergonomics not seen at the federal level.
A law in New York is set to impose new workplace ergonomics requirements on large warehouse operators this year and could be a model for states looking to address concerns over higher-than-average injury rates at warehouses in general and Amazon facilities specifically.
Connecticut lawmakers considered warehouse safety legislation that mirrors the New York law. California and Oregon have limited warehouse operators’ use of productivity or work-speed quotas, and they could expand their laws with more prescriptive ergonomics requirements.
Minnesota and Washington state already require workplace ergonomics standards to varying degrees.
Passing the legislation in Georgia might be a significant lift.
Both Georgia state representatives Schofield and McClain are members of the House Committee on Industry and Labor.
However, Republicans maintain a solid majority in the Georgia legislature—meaning Democrats need GOP supporters for the bill to pass.
How the Trump administration will tackle work safety issues at the federal level is unclear.
Amazon continues to face increasing scrutiny from federal lawmakers who say the company’s work-speed quotas worsen the injury-prone nature of warehouse jobs. The company agreed to institute new ergonomic safety procedures at its facilities nationwide as part of a deal to resolve multiple US Occupational Safety and Health violations stemming from investigations that started in 2022.
At the time, an Amazon spokesperson said OSHA withdrew nine of the 10 citations, while the company accepted only one of those citations for a site in Illinois where the company agreed to make changes to better enforce its already existing policies on ergonomic risks.
“There isn’t a claim of wrong-doing on Amazon’s part for the withdrawn citations, nor a directive to adopt new safety controls,” said Maureen Lynch Vogel told Bloomberg Law at the time.
President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the country’s workplace safety watchdog, David Keeling, was the director of road and transportation safety at
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