Standards

OSHA Raises Employer Penalties for 2019

Jan. 31, 2019

The penalty increases apply to federal OSHA states.

The penalties levied against employers for safety violations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have gone up, effective Jan. 24. The increases only apply to citations issued after that date and for the remainder of 2019.

The 2019 penalties are:

· Other than Serious violations, $13,260 (up from $12,675 in 2018);

· Serious violations, $13,260 (up from $12,675);

· Repeat violations: $132,598, (up from $126,749);

· Willful violations, $132,598 (up from $126,749);

· Failure to abate (per day), $13,260 (up from $12,675 last year).

The penalty increasse apply to federal OSHA states. Nonetheless, OSHA expects that the 26 states operating their own occupational safety and health programs will align penalty structures with federal OSHA so that such programs are equally effective.

“While this is OSHA’s expectation there has been little adjustment from various state plans to align with the increase in penalties,” notes Tressi L. Cordaro, an attorney with the law firm of Jackson Lewis PC. “For example, North Carolina and Kentucky still maintain a $7,000 maximum fine for serious violations and $70,000 for willful or repeats.”

In the future, DOL is required to adjust maximum OSHA penalties for inflation by January 15 of each new year.

About the Author

David Sparkman

David Sparkman is founding editor of ACWI Advance (www.acwi.org), the newsletter of the American Chain of Warehouses Inc. He also heads David Sparkman Consulting, a Washington D.C. area public relations and communications firm. Prior to these he was director of industry relations for the International Warehouse Logistics Association. Sparkman has also been a freelance writer, specializing in logistics and freight transportation. He has served as vice president of communications for the American Moving and Storage Association, director of communications for the National Private Truck Council, and for two decades with American Trucking Associations on its weekly newspaper, Transport Topics.