In September 2022, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a directive expanding the scope of its Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). SVEP singles out employers that OSHA concludes have demonstrated indifference toward worker safety through willful or repeat citations as well as failure to abate workplace hazards cited by the agency. Employers enrolled in SVEP can expect mandatory inspections, inspections of facilities not related to the original citations, and publication of safety findings through OSHA press releases. OSHA reduced the criteria for entering into SVEP, drawing additional industries not frequently subject to these measures.

Since issuance of the directive, OSHA has aggressively used SVEP to respond to cases where it concludes that employers are not taking adequate measures to address noted safety issues. Last month, for example, OSHA announced settlement of a lawsuit filed against an Ohio construction company placed into SVEP in 2022 following 12 fall protection citations issued since 2009. In addition to paying $730,000 in penalties for additional violations, the employer agreed to a series of auditing and remedial measures intended to change the company’s culture and approach toward safety compliance.

This case illustrates the aggressive approach taken by OSHA with respect to companies it considers to be bad actors with respect to safety compliance. SVEP designation lasts for a minimum of three years (it gets reduced to two if certain voluntary compliance measures are taken). Adverse publicity associated with placement in SVEP can cause companies major challenges with respect to bidding, insurance, and other issues associated with a poor safety compliance record.

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