Time to Increase OSHA Fines

January 29th, 2004 by Hal

There have been many news stories in the last two weeks announcing fines handed out by OSHA for incidents involving loss of life in construction accidents. I am blown away by how small these fines are. Checking on the OSHA site I've found that these fines are limited by law. Numerous efforts over the years have been made to increase the fines. Each effort is met with strong industry opposition. Here is the schedule of fines from the OSHA publication:

Other-than-Serious: $0 - $1,000
Serious: $1,500 - $7,000
Willful: $5,000 - $70,000
Repeated: up to $70,000
Failure to Abate: $7,000/day

In assessing fines OSHA applies a fine to each non-complying aspect of the jobsite. So there could be 10 other-than-serious violations each carrying a $100 fine totalling $1,000. Adjustments are made to the fines (downward) based on the size of the company.

Have a look at the recent stories in the Construction Safety in the News sideblog on the Safety Everyday page. Tell me what you think about the fines. Is it time for a change?

GAO Says OSHA Needs Better Oversight of Fines

Kaptur Holding OSHA Accountable

Calls for Safer Work Conditions Results in 56 OSHA Violations

OSHA Expands VPP with Construction

NSC’s Safety Congress & Expo

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