Report: Workplace Safety Violation Penalties Need Adjusting

Each year, thousands of workers lose their lives while many more are serious injured on the job. While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has federal laws in place to encourage a safe working environment, a new report indicates that these laws aren't doing enough.

According to a recent report published by the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR), a nonprofit organization, more than 30,000 workers have died since 2009. Researchers from this report cite this disturbing trend on the low cost of safety violations, which is just $5,800. When a company earns hundreds of thousands, or millions, of dollars worth in annual revenue, a $5,800 fine is a drop in the bucket -- and therein lies the problem.

What's even more shocking is that the report found OSHA to reduce the total imposed fines on employers by approximately 25% before closing out the case. If a company was fined $10,000, for instance, it may only pay $7,500. This is a common practice done by OSHA, and it has both proponents and opponents.

But OSHA is currently in the works to revamp its penalty framework. According to the new documents, OSHA's maximum fine for willful or repeated violations will increase to $124,709, effective in August of this year. In comparison, the previous maximum fine for such violations was just $70,000. OSHA is also increasing the maximum fine for other violations, raising it from $7,000 to $12,471. These changes will take effect in August.

"Federal law required an act of Congress to increase the amount OSHA is allowed to fine companies that put their workers in danger," said Thomas McGarity, one of the reports authors. "But the agency doesn't need congressional legislation to fix the way it settles citations with scofflaw employers or to maximize the deterrent effect of the fines it gives to companies that break the law."

The bottom line is that employers need to pay close attention to OSHA's new fines/penalties policy. Whether you are a small business, mid-sized or large, this will effect you in some way or another. Turning a blind eye to these changes could result in hardship if you are ever fined for a safety violation.

What do you think of OSHA's decision to increase its maximum fines for safety violations? Is it a good idea or bad idea?