OSHA Fines Increase for the First Time in 20 Years

SANDY, Utah - Nov. 20, 2015 - PRLog -- In early November, the President signed a the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (H.R. 1314) into law. One provision of the new budget is changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) for the stated purpose of keeping up with inflation. Because the cost of penalties hasn’t changed in 26 years, this development is going to significantly raise the limit on how much employers may be charged for violations. In the bill, the upper limit for severe violations has risen by about 80%, but the final numbers may decrease slightly during the rulemaking stage. The changes will be implemented in 2016. After that, OSHA law has been updated to allow for an annual inflation adjustment every year.

Willful Violations

“Willful violations,” including repeat violations, are the most serious transgressions of the OSHA law. The old limit for willful violation was $70,000. With the increase, fines may now reach $125,000. These penalties are reserved for cases where businesses were aware of serious hazards or violation of the law and did nothing to abate the problem. Not addressing cited violations will carry an additional penalty of thousands for every day the business fails to act.

Other Serious Violations

There are a range of lesser but still serious violations in which workplace conditions could have potentially resulted in the death or serious injury of a worker. These violations were formerly capped at around $7,000. The changes in the law will raise this to $12,500.

Lesser Violations

These are issues that could affect safety in the workplace but don’t directly contribute to serious violations. Many of these fines fall into the realm of technicality, and may be reduced or not levied at all based on the size of the business and its previous safety record.

How Does This Affect my Business?

Compared to other penalties levied by government agencies, OSHA fines have been very low. The new prices may look shocking, but many businesses found guilty of violations may have already been paying comparable damages to those outlined in the new law. This is because legal teams have been using technicalities and other measures in an effort to increase the dollar amount of damages. Lawyers have argued for higher total amounts because the original numbers were woefully inadequate to cover the current cost of living for injured. Therefore, one positive aspect of the change is that it may actually streamline the process by discouraging emphesis on technicalities. This will save time and reduce legal fees for both sides.

The best way to adapt to these new changes is to prevent charges in the first place. Safety must be a paramount aspect of your workplace. It’s an ideal time to review your procedures and maybe even do a surprise inspection of your workplace, if applicable. Familiarize yourself with any specific regulations that may exist in the state where you do business. Making sure workers and managers are aware of the laws and creating a culture of positive compliance is not only the right thing to do, it can save you serious legal problems and potentially the loss of your business should a serious accident occur.

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