Stuart Warehouse Tornado Safety Bill Signed into Law

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Warehouse workers in Illinois will be safer during weather emergencies after the Warehouse Tornado Preparedness Act, passed this year by state Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday.

“Keeping workers safe from foreseeable hazards so they can return home to their families and loved ones at the end of every shift is important,” Stuart said. “That’s why I’ve worked nonstop since the tragedy that impacted our community to ensure that warehouses are doing more to protect their workers in weather emergencies like tornadoes.”

In December of 2021, an EF-3 tornado impacted the Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, IL, killing six workers who did not know and hadn’t been adequately trained or instructed as to how to take shelter in a weather emergency.

Management had locked up a megaphone so that managers had to shout instructions over the sound of the storm. Additionally, training was spotty and the disaster preparedness plan was generic, not tailored for the specific hazards likely in the Midwest region. One of two bathrooms in the warehouse was constructed as a shelter, and the six who died were those who tried to shelter in the other bathroom. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found in 2022 that Amazon had not violated existing safety rules and was therefore technically not at fault.

Stuart’s House Bill 2987 improves existing safety rules by:
● Requiring a tornado safety plan, specific to each individual warehouse, that is updated annually
in all Illinois warehouses,
● Requiring that tornado shelters meet the International Building Code (IBC) guidelines,
● Requiring that warehouses must construct sufficient shelter space for 125% of persons who
regularly work there, including temporary workers like drivers,
● Requiring that shelters contain certain supplies, including a first aid kit, food and water
sufficient for 12 hours, a fire extinguisher, high visibility clothing, two-way and weather radios,
and whistles.

“The fact that management was unprepared, that training and equipment weren’t in place, and that six people died as a result—despite no rules being violated—means there was a serious problem with the rules,” Stuart said. “That’s why I stood up a task force to examine the problem from every angle. What resulted was this legislation, that closes the gaps in safety rules so that what happened to our community never happens again to any community in Illinois.”

The new law is effective immediately. Existing warehouses have 120 days to comply with the emergency plan. New warehouses will have to comply within 7 days of opening.