OSHA requires that workplaces comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970. This legislation ensures workplace safety. Failure to comply with this act will result in penalties. With each violation of this Act, OSHA gives employers notice of the violation’s nature, strategies to remedy the problem, and a deadline to institute those changes. Penalties for OSHA violations can be significant.
Types of Violations
These violations fall into four categories. Willful violations occur when an employer knowingly or indifferently violated the safety of its employees. Serious violations occur when a workplace condition can cause death or serious physical harm to an employee. Repeated violations occur when a violation has been cited multiple times by OSHA. Other-Than-Serious violations occur when the violation is in relation to workplace safety but not serious in nature. If any one of these violations has occurred they must be posted so all are aware of the unsafe conditions.
Failure to end these dangerous practices are can lead to a violation called failure to abate. An abatement date is a deadline when an employer must have these issues remedied. At this point, an additional inspection occurs to ensure that the previous violations have been remedied. If following the inspection the issues are still present, a failure to abate will be issued.
Penalties for Violations
Violations that are classified as Serious, Other-Than-Serious, or failure to post result in a $15,625 penalty. Failure to abate results in a $15,625 penalty for each day beyond the date of abatement. Willful and Repeated violations result in a $156,259 penalty.
It is important to note that states are allowed to implement their own penalties as long as they are not lower than the federal guidelines by OSHA.
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References
United States Department of Labor (1996). Federal Employer Rights and Responsibilities Following an OSHA Inspection-1996. Retrieved from: https://www.osha.gov/publications/fedrites#:~:text=OTHER%2DTHAN%2DSERIOUS%3A%20A,other%2Dthan%2Dserious.%22
United States Department of Labor (15 January 2023). OSHA Penalties. Retrieved from: https://www.osha.gov/penalties
