The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines a "willful" violation as one where the employer either knowingly failed to comply with a legal requirement or acted with plain indifference to employee safety....more
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...more
On May 24, 2023, Governor Tina Kotek signed into law legislation raising the maximum penalties for workplace fatality–related citations in Oregon far above federal limits. The law took effect immediately....more
Those of us who deal with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have watched with interest the agency’s ongoing enforcement efforts against the Dollar General retail chain. Since 2017, OSHA has assessed...more
In recent years, we have written extensively about the huge increases in fines and other penalties assessed by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). These fines are multiplied in situations where...more
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has increased its minimum and maximum penalties for workplace safety and health violations by 7.7 percent effective January 17, 2023. Today, a “serious” violation...more
On September 15, 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published Directive Number CPL 02-00-169, a new instruction to its enforcement arm, updating policies and procedures for OSHA’s Severe...more