Amazon Changes Controversial Employee Monitoring System

The Time Off Task policy -- a heavily criticized system used algorithms to monitor workers' productivity, with employees made to explain their breaks.

Amazon shifted policy on a controversial employee productivity monitoring system Tuesday as a coalition of US labor unions took aim at the firm, saying a need for speed in warehouses led to injuries. Workers at Amazon warehouses are hurt more often and more severely than peers employed at retail rivals such as Walmart, the Strategic Organizing Center said in a report based on data provided to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. "The company's obsession with speed has come at a huge cost for Amazon's workforce," the center formed by labor unions said. Late Tuesday the firm announced a shift in its Time Off Task policy -- a heavily criticized system that uses algorithms to monitor workers' productivity, with employees made to explain their breaks.