On Sept. 9, the House Education and Labor Committee proposed considerable increases to OSHA fines as a part of their budget resolution for fiscal year 2022, which starts on Oct. 1.
The proposition was part of the committee’s portion of the Build Back Better Act, a plan to create jobs, cut taxes, and lower costs for working families. Their portion of the plan seeks to raise minimum OSHA fines from $9,753 for willful or repeat violations to $50,000 and the maximum from $136,532. Failure-to-abate violations would move from a maximum of $13,653 to $70,000.
Essentially, the increase means an overall increase of nearly five times the previous rate.
When could this go into effect?
A congressional committee approved the measure on Sept. 10, and the House of Representatives is expected to vote on it then send it to the Senate.
A majority vote would mean the new measure would be enacted on Oct. 1.
In a press release, Committee Chair Bobby Scott (D-VA) said, “as part of the Build Back Better plan, workers’ rights are strengthened with provisions to apply civil monetary penalties for labor law violations and by updating the dollar amount of worker safety penalties so they are large enough to serve as an adequate deterrent.
MSHA & OSHA
In addition, the committee’s portion of the Act includes a proposal to allocate $133 million to the Mine Safety and Health Administration as well as $707 million to OSHA for enforcement, development of standards, whistleblower investigations, compliance assistance, State Plan funding, and related activities.
Related: Here are the six types of OSHA Violations
If the proposed penalty structure were enacted, a single violation could put a company out of business. Legal costs may be inevitable, as cited employers will be more likely to challenge citations in order to avoid significantly larger penalties.
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What’s the best way to avoid OSHA fines in general? To stay on top of workplace health and safety standards.
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About Worksite Medical
In most cases, OSHA requires medical surveillance testing, and at no cost to employees.
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