On June 30, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced its interim final rule on Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Catch-Up Adjustments. The rule was formally published in the Federal Register on July...more
The two-year bipartisan budget President Obama signed on November 2, 2015, required OSHA to raise its citation penalties for the first time in 25 years. Since 1990, OSHA has been one of only three federal agencies that were...more
Penalties assessed against employers for OSHA workplace health and safety violations will be adjusted for inflation under a law passed by Congress. On Nov. 2, 2015, Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015,...more
As employers look ahead to 2016, it will be important to consider the impact of Section 701 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (H.R. 1314), which was signed into law by President Obama on November 2, 2015. This bill...more
On November 2, 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. Obscured within the lengthy bill is a provision that not only mandates a current increase in the penalties for violations of standards...more
OSHA penalties, like death and taxes, are one of the few certainties in life. The last time OSHA raised its maximum penalties, Vanilla Ice and New Kids on the Block dominated the airwaves, Macaulay Culkin was a bona fide...more
As a result of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (Budget Act), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will increase its maximum civil monetary penalties for the first time since 1990....more
As we mentioned in our previous blog, the bipartisan budget signed by President Obama on November 2, 2015 contains provisions that will allow OSHA to raise maximum penalties for the first time in 25 years. The maximum...more
For the first time since 1990, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been authorized to increase its civil penalties. The provision was inserted into the expansive Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, which...more
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, signed by President Obama on November 2nd, contains a buried provision with the potential to substantially impact employers. Section 701 of the Act significantly increases the maximum civil...more
For the first time in 25 years, OSHA fines likely will be increasing. The change will take effect no later than August 1, 2016, and each year thereafter. A relatively obscure provision in the 2015 budget bill passed by...more
OSHA critics often complain that the maximum allowed penalties have not changed since 1990 when the penalties were set at $7,000 (other than serious and serious) and $70,000 (repeat or willful). The “Bipartisan Budget Act of...more
The new two-year bipartisan budget, signed by President Obama on November 2, 2015, allows (in fact requires) OSHA to raise its citation penalties for the first time in 25 years. Since 1990, OSHA has been one of only three...more