Consistent with OSHA’s Philosophy to increase enforcement
activities, they have also increased fines associated
with citations. In a memo dated April 22, 2010, OSHA’s
Assistant Secretary David Michaels has increased penalties
for violations of OSHA regulations. They suggest that
fines for serious, repeat and willful violations will
increase and the ability of negotiations to reduce fines
will decrease.
It appears that the average citation amount will increase
from $1,000.00 to $3,000.00 to $4,000.00. OSHA intends
to stop grouping serious violations and cite each one
individually with fines up to $7,000.00 for serious
citations. They also intend on issuing a separate fine
for each item such as 20 employees not trained on respirators
will be 20 x $7,000.00 or $140,000.00.
The fact that they intend on increasing fines is supported
by recent citations:
April 2010-OSHA proposes $60,000.00 fines for Illinois
Company for safety violations.
April 2010-OSHA proposes $70,000.00 fines for willful
violations by a Wisconsin Firm.
April 2010-OSHA proposes $99,050.00 fines for 40 serous
safety violations by Georgia Firm.
April 2010-OSHA proposes $153,000.00 fines for 4 serious,
4 repeat and 1 other then serious violation by Idaho
Company.
HERE ARE THE TOP 15 MOST CITED OSHA
REGULATIONS FROM OCTOBER 2008 TO SEPTEMBER 2009
| Description |
Citation #’s |
Standard |
| 1. Scaffolding General Requirements |
9824 Citations |
1926.0451 |
| 2. Fall Protection |
7550 |
1926.0501 |
| 3. Hazard Communication |
7071 |
1910.1200 |
| 4. Respiratory Protection |
4261 |
1910.0134 |
| 5. Lockout/Tagout |
3605 |
1910.0147 |
| 6. Ladders |
3532 |
1926.1053 |
| 7. Electrical-Wiring |
3360 |
1910.0305 |
| 8. Powered Industrial Trucks |
3201 |
1910.0178 |
| 9. Electrical-General Req. |
2740 |
1910.0303 |
| 10. Machine Guarding |
2537 |
1910.0212 |
| 11. Fall Protection Training |
2498 |
1926.0503 |
| 12. Construction-General Provisions |
2028 |
1926.0020 |
| 13. Aerial Lifts |
1986 |
1926.0453 |
| 14. Head Protection |
1843 |
1926.0100 |
| 15. Personal Prot. Equip. (PPE) |
1773 |
1910.0132 |
OSHA appears to be determined to improve health and
safety in the workplace through citations and large
fines.
This is certainly more incentive to strengthen your
safety programs and increase inspections.
For more information or assistance contact us at info@atlenv.com
or 800-344-4414.
