Three Types Of OSHA Violations & Their Penalties

Whether you are an employer or an employee, you may already know that there are certain OSHA regulations to abide by. Failure to do so can result in a violation and with that, a penalty, which is typically a fine. Violations are classified by their severity.

In this article, you can find out more about five different types of OSHA violations.

Violations by Severity

There are four tiers of OSHA violations, and each one comes with a monetary fine. The higher the tier of severity, the higher the fine. Find out more about each one below:

• • De Minimis — This is the least severe type of violation as they do not impact health and safety. Employers who do not follow the technical rules of the OSHA can be issued with a de minimis violation, for which there is no fine.
  • Other-Than-Serious — The next tier of violation has a direct relationship to health and safety in the workplace, however, they are not an immediate concern. Some examples include poor record keeping, and the maximum fine that can be imposed is $13,494.

• • Serious — Moving up, we have serious violations, which has a high risk of causing potential harm to workers. Another reason of violation may be classified as serious if the employer was aware of the problem but did nothing to address it. The same maximum fine of $13,494 applies to serious violations.

• • Willful — This is the most severe type of violation, as employers would have to be aware they are violating the law and yet took no action to change their behavior. Willful violations come with a maximum fine of $134,937 and if an employee has lost their life as a result, this increases to $250,000 with the possibility of jailtime.

Repeated Violations

Repeated violations come with the same maximum fine as willful violations. This is because the employer will already know that the problem existed, but has not taken any steps to resolve it.

Failure to Abate Violation

Once an employer has received a citation, they will be given a deadline by which they should resolve the issue. If this is not met, a failure to abate violation can be issued. To encourage employers to get issues resolved as soon as possible, fines are in place. That maximum penalty for this type of violation is $13,494  per day.

Come to Carcich O’Shea for Workplace Rights Representation

If your employer has been in violation of regulations, you may be wondering what legal recourse you have. Under the OSHA, whistleblowers are protected, and your employer cannot legally retaliate. When you come to us at Carcich O’Shea, we can carry out workplace investigations on your behalf. Besides that, we have expertise in a variety of other practice areas, including family medical leave and employment contracts. Our team of experienced attorneys constantly keep ourselves up to date on the latest legal developments, making us well equipped to fight in your corner.

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