Earlier this month, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced that maximum civil penalties for serious violations would increase from $15,625 to $16,131. The penalties for repeat or willful violations increased from $156,259 to $161,323. The increases follow recent measures that link the civil penalty maximum to federal cost of living indices.

In recent years, employers have expressed sticker shock over the dollar amount of fines assessed by federal OSHA. Under the Biden administration, the agency has significantly increased penalty amounts under the theory that the prior fines were insufficient to motivate employers to prioritize workplace safety. In addition to the increased penalty amounts, many citations divide a single workplace hazard into multiple items, further boosting the total fine amount.

Many state OSHA agencies have been slower to adopt these new penalty strategies. In some situations, federal OSHA has threatened state programs with a review of their enforcement authority unless they follow the agency’s lead by imposing increased penalties. For many employers, these changes have resulted in total fines that are twice or more what would have been assessed five years ago. These increased financial stakes have caused some employers to pay more attention to safety compliance issues. For others, the increased fines have led to an increased willingness to legally challenge OSHA violations rather than considering questionable citations a cost of doing business.

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