The maximum penalties charged by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will increase by 78 percent for penalties assessed after Aug. 1, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The increase means the top penalty for a serious violation will rise from $7,000 to $12,471. For willful or repeated violations, the maximum will increase from $70,000 to $124,709. The fines were adjusted to account for inflation and are the first fine increases since 1990.
“Civil penalties should be a credible deterrent that influences behavior far and wide,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez in a statement. “Adjusting our penalties to keep pace with the cost of living can lead to significant benefits for workers and can level the playing field responsible employers who should not have to compete with those who don’t follow the law.”
As required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, the adjustments were published in an interim rule on July 1. In addition to the initial catch-up adjustment, agencies are required to adjust the penalty levels for inflation each year.
The adjustments also affect fines assessed by the Employee Benefits Security Administration, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs and Wage and Hour Division. The full list of increases is available online.
