The Department of Labor has increased civil penalty amounts for violations to adjust for inflation, effective Jan. 15.
The increase is 1.01764% for DOL agencies, including OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration, according to a final rule published in the Jan. 15 Federal Register.
For OSHA, the maximum penalty for “willful” or “repeat” violations is $134,937 – up from $132,598. The minimum fine for a willful violation is $9,639. The maximum fines for serious, other-than-serious, failure-to-correct and posting-requirement violations increase to $13,494 from $13,260.
MSHA’s maximum penalty for a “flagrant” violation increases to $270,972 from $266,275.
Under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, DOL is required to adjust civil penalty levels for inflation by Jan. 15 each year. DOL determines yearly adjustment rates via the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.
On November 2, 2015, the President signed into law the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015. This law requires the Department to annually adjust its civil monetary penalty levels for inflation no later than January 15 of each year.
While avoiding fines and penalties are important for profitable operations and a good reputation, the true goal is always the overall well being of the workers themselves. The best way to protect your company from being impacted by rising penalties is implementing and maintaining solid health and safety programs. McCraren Compliance offers comprehensive support from manuals and programs to audits and inspections and the training which ensures your company receives the full value offered by these tools.
We can help you ensure safety standards are met out in the field as well. Add one of our safety experts to your project team. We can staff projects of all sizes and duration; filling in for safety during a vacation or illness, supplementing an established team, or providing all safety resources from start to finish. Contact us today to find out more.