Recently signed into law, the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 allows OSHA to increase the maximum fine for violations by about 82% and to annually increase the limit on fines to keep pace with inflation.
For the last 25 years, the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 limited OSHA in the maximum monetary penalty of a violation at $99,000.
Dr. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, expressed his frustration after a gas leak at a DuPont plant killed four people this year, saying, “It’s painful for us…to see that the fine is only $99,000.” In a testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcomittee on Workforce Protection, he called the limits to monetary penalties “the most serious obstacle to effective OSHA enforcement of the law.”
The new act allows OSHA to increase the fines associated with citations, however, it does include possible exceptions to the increase. It noted that OSHA does not have to increase the maximum fine if “ increasing the civil monetary penalty by the otherwise required amount will have a negative impact
[on America]” or “the social costs of increasing the civil monetary penalty by the otherwise required amount outweigh the benefits.”
The new act has been accepted with mixed emotions. Whereas the increase in the maximum fine will inevitably deter violations and encourage companies to focus more on their safety culture, the companies who will potentially face these penalties are understandably concerned. The Wall Street Journal hinted that legislators might not have been completely aware of the new act reporting that many in the industry “were caught by surprise by the new mandate.”
According to the act, new fine increases must take place by August 1 of 2016, but OSHA can choose to implement new increases sooner, should they choose to do so. In the meantime, stay proactive in your approach to safety.
The best offence is a good defense! Protect your company by investing in safety software. Safety software such as Q-Safety’s Inspection and Audit module allows you to document, track, and utilize inspection related information, so you can avoid unnecessary fines from safety violations. Check out our featured article series Return on Safety and learn how safety adds business value to a company.
