FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 24, 2025
Contact: Tochtli Garcia, tgarcia@nationalcosh.org, 917.804.8581

Los Angeles - As Workers’ Memorial Week is observed this year from April 23 to May 1, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) has released its 2025 Dirty Dozen report. The annual report identifies twelve employers that have failed to protect workers on the job, leading to preventable injuries, illnesses, and deaths.

This year, Amazon receives a special dishonor, landing in the “Penalty Box” as a repeat offender—cited for systemic abuse, sky-high injury rates, and efforts to silence worker voices through surveillance and union-busting.

“No one should die for a paycheck,” said Jessica E. Martinez, MPH, Executive Director of National COSH. “The employers on our Dirty Dozen list are putting profit ahead of people—endangering workers with unsafe conditions, stolen wages, retaliation, and abuse. These workers are not disposable. They are rising up, organizing, and demanding the dignity and safety every human being deserves.
The 2025 Dirty Dozen were selected based on severity of hazards, legal violations, industry influence, and ongoing worker organizing efforts. This year’s list includes:

2025 Dirty Dozen Employers: Endangering Workers and Communities

• Alpha Foliage, Inc. 
  Nursery workers in Florida face intense heat, back-breaking labor, pesticide exposure, and a lack of basic protections like rest breaks and water. OSHA issued citations in 2025 for multiple safety violations.
   
• Barnes Farming 
  Migrant farmworkers in North Carolina report unsafe heat exposure and poverty wages. One worker, José Arturo González Mendoza, died just weeks into the job. NC OSHA cited the company for willful violations.
   
• 99 Cost Bargain 
  Workers in this California discount chain face wage theft, sexual harassment, and unsafe conditions. They’re organizing despite retaliation and unsafe work environments.
   
• Cooperative Laundry 
  This New Jersey laundry contractor for luxury hotels has exposed immigrant workers to dangerous machinery and toxic chemicals. Several workers were seriously injured, including one hospitalized after being trapped in a running dryer in January 2025.
   
• Egreen Transport Corporation 
  Chinese workers in Georgia toil 12-hour days, 7 days a week in overcrowded housing and under threats of deportation. Workers won over $580,000 in back wages through organizing and legal complaints.
   
• Envy Nails 
  Salon workers in New York report forced work without breaks, workplace violence, and unsafe conditions. Despite years of lawsuits and fines, abuses persist.
   
• LCMC Health 
  Nurses in New Orleans have documented widespread workplace violence, loaded weapons entering hospital facilities, and severe staffing shortages. They’re striking and demanding protection from daily hazards.
   
• Mar-Jac Poultry (Repeat Offender) 
  This poultry company in Georgia appears on the list again after three worker deaths since 2020, including 16-year-old Duvan Perez. Federal agencies recently uncovered child labor violations and issued serious safety citations.
   
• McDonald’s 
  Fast-food workers report wage theft, harassment, and unsafe conditions. Despite previous fines and settlements, poor conditions continue.
   
• Miracapo Pizza Company 
  Three immigrant workers in Elk Grove Village, Illinois were maimed or killed in preventable machinery incidents, including the tragic decapitation of Leily López Hernández.
   
• Star Garden and Magic Tavern 
  Strip club dancers in California and Oregon are organizing against unsafe conditions and sexual violence. Despite legal orders, management has refused to bargain and retaliated against union organizers.
   
• The GEO Group 
  This for-profit prison giant forces detained individuals to perform hazardous work for $1 a day. Those who resist face solitary confinement and punishment. The company has faced multiple citations and lawsuits for unsafe practices and sexual harassment.
   
• Penalty Box: Amazon 
  Amazon remains a prime example of corporate abuse—appearing again for widespread safety failures, a brutal pace of work, and union suppression.

“These companies operate with impunity—until workers exercise their rights, organize, speak up, and make clear demands for change,” said Martinez. “Our job at National COSH is to amplify their courage, shine a light on injustice, and call for accountability.”

“At Miracapo Pizza, the factory is cold, fast-paced, and dangerous. We’ve seen injuries, pain, and fear—but we keep working because we need the job. We are human beings, not machines. We demand safe conditions and to be treated with dignity,” said Meidy Ramirez, worker at Miracapo Pizza.

“Working for The Geo Group while detained at the Golden State Annex was forced labor. We had no safety training, no protective gear—just punishment if we refused. Our rights were stripped away, and we had to come together in collective struggle to defend our dignity. No one should be exploited for profit behind bars,” said a formerly detained worker at a Geo Group-operated immigrant detention center.

“At McDonald’s, we work under pressure, short-staffed, and often without the protections we need. When you speak up about safety, they ignore you. We deserve respect, not retaliation. Every worker should feel safe at work, no matter how big the company is,” said Pamela Mejia, worker at McDonald’s.

“At Envy Nails, workers are exposed to toxic chemicals every single day—often without adequate ventilation, protection, or even basic health safeguards. Many are immigrant women doing long hours for low pay, suffering in silence out of fear of retaliation. This is not just a workplace safety issue; it’s a racial and gender justice crisis,” said Yanelia Ramirez, former worker at Envy Nails. “We demand accountability and urgent reforms—no one should have to sacrifice their health just to earn a living.”

“The Chinese immigrant workers at Egreen Transportation endured wage theft, racial discrimination, and dangerous conditions—but they refused to stay silent. Despite threats of deportation and retaliation, they organized, filed legal complaints, and won a $580,000 judgment. Their courage is a call to action: no employer should be allowed to exploit workers because of their race or immigration status,” said Sebastián Muñoz, Bilingual Digital Communications Coordinator at Sur Legal Collaborative, speaking on behalf of workers impacted by Egreen’s abuses.

As we remember workers lost to preventable tragedies, National COSH is calling on policymakers to take bold action: enforce labor laws, ban child labor in hazardous jobs, hold corporations accountable, and invest in protections for workers most at risk—from heat exposure to retaliation.

Each year, National COSH identifies the Dirty Dozen through a rigorous, collaborative process. Nominations come from our national network of COSH groups, frontline workers, union organizers, health and safety experts, advocates, and academic allies.

Companies are selected based on multiple factors: the severity and frequency of harm to workers, repeat violations of safety laws, their power to shape industry norms, and—crucially—whether workers and their communities are actively organizing to expose unsafe conditions and demand change.
Workers’ Memorial Week is a global event which remembers workers who lost their lives on the job and their families, as well as recognizing those who suffer from occupational injuries and illnesses. The event is marked by worker actions, vigils, and rallies around the world, with a focus on winning safer working conditions to avoid future preventable tragedies.