Articles Discussing OSHA Violations.

Raising the maximum fine 400 percent for failing to timely report a work-related severe injury and increasing the likelihood for on-site inspections of employers who report a serious injury are among changes reflected in new guidance released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Shortly before OSHA’s new injury and illness reporting requirements came into effect last January, OSHA issued “Interim Enforcement Procedures for New Reporting Requirements under 29 C.F.R. 1904.39.” These interim procedures served as enforcement guidance for Area Offices and compliance officers when issuing citations to employers for failing to report injuries under the new requirements. Last week the Agency issued revised enforcement procedures, “Revised Interim Enforcement Procedures for Reporting Requirements under 29 C.F.R. 1904.39” due to the “influx of workplace incident reports to OSHA and the field’s experiences with the new reporting requirements.”

Almost without exception, simply reaching for the checkbook to pay an OSHA citation upon receipt of the citation is never advisable. Indeed, one alternative way to resolve a citation is to immediately request what is referred to as an “informal conference” with the OSHA area director. The informal conference, which must take place no later than 15 business days of the employer’s receipt of the citation, is very popular because it presents an opportunity at an early stage of the process to negotiate a penalty reduction, extension of abatement dates, deletion of violations, and/or reclassification of violations.

In December 2011, a Maine roofing contractor was directed by federal court order to correct violations associated with 11 different OSHA citations and to pay $404,000 in fines and interest that had been imposed previously over the period 2000 to 2011. The 11 citations related to 11 different work sites, and the contractor not only never responded to the initial citations but also never corrected the underlying safety conditions or paid the assessed fines after the citations had turned into final orders. Now, the contractor could wind up in jail.