{"id":7122,"date":"2021-02-01T13:55:10","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T18:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archive-lynchlaw.pfgsandbox.com\/?p=7122"},"modified":"2021-04-30T12:19:56","modified_gmt":"2021-04-30T16:19:56","slug":"osha-penalties-increase-for-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive-lynchlaw.pfgsandbox.com\/?p=7122","title":{"rendered":"OSHA Penalties Increase For 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

Employers Should Prepare For Stricter Enforcement of Regulations<\/h2>\n

\"Workers<\/p>\n

T<\/span>he U.S.<\/span> Department of Labor issued a Memorandum for all OSHA Regional Administrators to provide clarity regarding the 2021 Annual Adjustments to OSHA <\/span>C<\/span>ivil\u00a0<\/span>P<\/span>enalties<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On November 2, 2015, the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 was enacted which further amended the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, as previously amended by the 1996 Debt Collection Improvement Act<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>(collectively, the \u201cPrior Inflation Adjustment Act\u201d) for civil monetary penalties.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The cost-of-living adjustment multiplier for 2021, based on the Consumer Price Index for\u00a0<\/span>A<\/span>ll\u00a0<\/span>U<\/span>rban\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>onsumers for October 2020<\/span>\u00a0(not seasonally adju<\/span>sted<\/span>), is 1.01182. To compute the 2021 annual adjustment, the Department multiplied the most recent penalty amount for each applicable penalty by the multiplier, 1.100182 and rounded it to the nearest dollar.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Minimum and Maximum Penalty Amount<\/h3>\n

Table 1 summarizes the minimum and maximum amount for proposed civil penalties:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Table 1: Maximum and Minimum Amounts for Civil Penalties<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Type of Violation<\/strong><\/td>\nPenalty Minimum<\/strong><\/td>\nPenalty Maximum<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Serious<\/td>\n[$975] per violation<\/td>\n$13,653 per violation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Other-Than-Serious<\/td>\n$0 per violation<\/td>\n$13,653 per violation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Willful or Repeated<\/td>\n[$9,753*] per violation<\/td>\n$136,532 per violation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Posting Requirements<\/td>\n$0 per violation<\/td>\n$13,653 per violation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Failure to Abate<\/td>\nN\/A<\/td>\n$13,653 per day unabated beyond the abatement date [generally limited to 30 days maximum]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

[* For a repeated other-than-serious violation that otherwise would have no initial penalty, a GBP penalty of $390 shall be proposed for the first repeated violation, $975 for the second repeated violation, and $1,950 for a third repetition.]<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Gravity Based Penalty Amounts<\/h3>\n

The gravity of a violation is defined by the Gravity Based Penalty (GBP).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n