Adidas America, a subsidiary of Adidas AG, is facing nearly $400,000 in new fines for fall hazards at its Chester, N.Y. warehouse, according to a statement from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
The company was already cited for $17,403 in penalties in March 2022, after a 2021 OSHA inspection discovered an absence of guardrails and an unsafe ladder that exposed Adidas employees to falls of up to 10 feet to the floor below.
Inspectors returned in January 2024 to that find the company had not corrected its violations by installing guardrails or equivalent protection for employees accessing and working atop this mezzanine. Additionally, the company is charged with extending the aforementioned ladder, which is used to access the mezzanine, to at least three feet above the landing. As a result, the company now faces an additional $396,377 in penalties for failing to comply with U.S. Department of Labor workplace safety standards.
“When employers agree to correct a hazard, they must follow through and prove to OSHA that the hazards were addressed,” said Rita Young, OSHA Area Director in Albany, N.Y. in a statement. “Adidas America failed to do so, continued to expose their employees to potentially deadly and disabling injuries and are now liable for additional and sizable OSHA penalties.”
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“Adidas is committed to the health and safety of our employees,” said the company in a statement shared with Retail TouchPoints. “Our facilities fully adhere to OSHA compliance requirements, and we are working with OSHA to resolve the matter.”
Adidas America now has 15 business days to comply with safety standards, request an informal conference with Young or contest the findings before an independent commission.
Adidas isn’t the only retail brand with warehouse and store conditions that have been found wanting in recent years:
- Dollar Tree agreed to pay a $1.35 million fine to settle safety violations in its stores in August 2023;
- OSHA has long had Amazon warehouses in its crosshairs, with the ecommerce giant receiving citations at upwards of six of its workplaces last year; and
- Dollar General was hit with $1 million more in fines in 2023, bringing the total amount of fines that retailer has paid since 2017 to $15 million.
