The 12 Most Dangerous Companies of 2022

June 13, 2022
National COSH is back with an all-new list of companies for its annual compilation of the Dirty Dozen.

After shelving its annual compilation of the country's "Dirty Dozen" employers last year during the pandemic, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) is back with an all-new list of companies who, according to National COSH, "put workers, families and communities at risk." Actually, the list isn't quite all-new, as Amazon has now appeared on it three times.

"The Dirty Dozen are companies that needlessly expose workers to preventable hazards, leading to preventable illnesses, injuries and fatalities," explains Jessica Martinez, co-executive director of National COSH.

Before we take a close look at the 12 companies on this year's list, it's important to note -- as we do every time we publish this slideshow -- that National COSH tends to single out companies who are resistant to unionization effortsNational COSH, after all, is an advocacy group whose aims include establishing and strengthening unions. Although some of the companies on this Dirty Dozen list have significant safety violations and citations on their record, others seem to be on the list not so much for severity of safety risks as for their prominence within their industry. This article offers a more detailed explanation of exactly how companies are chosen for, and how they end up on, the Dirty Dozen.

That explains why, for instance, Hilton Hotels is on this list and why many smaller companies you probably never heard of with far worse safety records than Hilton are not on the list. The major "safety violation" attributed to Starbucks is that the company "fires workers organizing for better safety conditions," according to National COSH. And Amazon, despite its leadership (along with the National Safety Council) to address and end musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace, has proven to be resistant to union organizing activities.

Here are links to previous recipients of the Dirty Dozen designation:

'Dirty Dozen' List Details 12 Most Egregious Employers of 2020

The 12 Most Dangerous Companies of 2019

The 12 Most Dangerous Companies of 2018

He Died Standing: Tales from the ‘Dirty Dozen’

About the Author

Dave Blanchard | Editor-in-Chief / Senior Director of Content

During his career Dave Blanchard has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeek, EHS Today, Material Handling & Logistics, Logistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. Prior to joining Endeavor/Informa/Penton, he spent a decade covering the artificial intelligence industry. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University. 

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