Consistent with the 2015 Inflation Adjustment Act, which provides for the annual increase in penalties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act by the previous year’s rate of inflation, the maximum OSHA penalties for citations issued after January 15, 2025, will increase by 2.6 percent.
The changes in penalty amounts for 2025 are as follows:
Congress believed that increasing the penalty amounts each year is necessary to maintain a “deterrent effect.” The practical effect, however, is that if an employee suffers an amputation or an injury serious enough to require admission to a hospital, the employer can usually expect to receive a citation alleging a Serious violation with the maximum penalty amount, regardless of employee fault. Therefore, as penalty amounts increase, it is even more important to design and implement an effective safety program that includes significant monitoring of employees’ compliance with safety rules and consistent enforcement of those rules through discipline.
