OSHA Penalties Increase Effective Jan. 15

Jan. 14, 2021

As a reminder, OSHA’s civil penalty amounts for workplace safety and health violations will increase slightly effective tomorrow in accordance with cost-of-living adjustments for 2021. These penalty levels apply to any violations assessed after Jan. 15.

OSHA’s maximum penalty for willful or repeated violations will increase from $134,937 to $136,532 per violation. Similarly, the maximum penalties for serious and other-than-serious violations will also increase from $13,494 per violation to $13,653 per violation.

States with their own Occupational Safety and Health Plans must adopt maximum penalty levels that at least match these federal levels.

More detailed penalty information can be found on OSHA's website and the full text of the Department of Labor’s 2021 adjustments can be found in the Federal Register.

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