The Occupational Safety and Health Administration released new maximum penalty amounts in January, increasing roughly 1.7%.
Serious, other-than-serious and posting requirement violations assessed after Jan. 15 will cost $13,494 per violation, as will failure to abate violations for each day after the abatement date. The 2020 penalty is a 1.76% increase over last year’s $13,260.
[Related: Why a workplace safety plan is a living document]
The penalty for willful or repeated violations increased to $134,937 per violation, up 1.73% from $132,598 last year.
In September 2019, OSHA presented the 10 most common violations reported for the year at the National Safety Council Congress and Expo. Once again, fall protection violations, both of general requirements and training requirements, were in the top 10, as were violations of scaffolding and ladder requirements.
[Related: Look to the margins to improve safety for all: ASSP]
- Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 6,010 violations
- Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 3,671
- Scaffolding (1926.451): 2,813
- Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 2,606
- Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2,450
- Ladders (1926.1053): 2,345
- Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 2,093
- Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 1,773
- Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,743
- Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,411
Danielle Andrus was previously the managing editor for Colorado Builder, and is currently Editor for the Journal of Financial Planning.
