ST. LOUIS—Members of congress say Amazon is “obstructing” their investigation into the company’s labor practices following six deaths at the company’s Edwarsdville warehouse during a December tornado. The lawmakers say they haven’t received documents requested from the company as part of their probe.

What You Need To Know

  • House Oversight Committee says Amazon is obstructing its investigation into company's labor practices following warehouse collapse that killed 6 people

  • The committee says it has not received all the requested documents after sending a new letter to Amazon President and CEO Andy Jaffy on Wednesday
  • The commitee says Amazon has refused to produce any documents related to its own internal investigations and reviews of the Edwardsville incident, which are central to the Committee’s inquiry
  • The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Hazard Alert Letter to Amazon in late April but did not issue any formal citations.

Thursday, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Committee Members Reps. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York said the committee had received limited information from the company after sending a new letter to Amazon President and CEO Andy Jaffy on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, Amazon has failed to meaningfully comply with the Committee’s requests, obstructing the Committee’s investigation,” they wrote in the letter made public on Thursday.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel responded this afternoon, saying “We were surprised to receive this letter because we began producing materials to the Committee just two weeks after receiving its initial request and have produced more than 1,500 pages of responsive information.  As we have done from the start, we will continue to work with Committee staff on further document production — which includes the most recent materials we shared on June 1.”

The letter from lawmakers continues to explain that, “Nearly seven weeks have passed since the April 2022 deadline, yet Amazon still has not fully produced the key categories of documents identified by Committee staff, let alone the full set of materials the Committee requested in March. Amazon has refused to produce any documents related to its own internal investigations and reviews of the Edwardsville incident, which are central to the Committee’s inquiry. Over the course of nearly seven weeks, Amazon produced an incomplete set of policies, procedures, and communications, despite claiming it was conducting a thorough investigation into the Edwardsville events and cooperating with an inquiry by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.”

Federal safety investigators say Amazon’s severe weather policies in place at the time of the December tornado which struck its Edwardsville facility and killed 6 people “met minimal federal safety guidelines for storm sheltering,” but the online retailer needs to do more to protect workers and drivers in the future. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a Hazard Alert Letter to Amazon in late April but did not issue any formal citations.

Amazon's spokesperson also pointed out the OSHA investigation found it responded "like any responsible company."

The committee is also seeking documents showing how Amazon managed its workforce during other natural disasters, including wildfires in California in 2018.

This week’s letter from the House Oversight Committee gives Amazon until June 8 to produce requested documents. “If Amazon fails to do so, the Committee will have no choice but to consider alternative measures to obtain full compliance,” the members wrote.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.