Bad news is coming for safety violators: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has increased the maximum penalty for violations.

But what do these higher OSHA fines mean, and how much are they? Here’s a quick breakdown on these job site changes.

Why Is OSHA Increasing Fines?

As the cost of living has increased, businesses have increased their rates and prices to keep up. The result: A gap between what the businesses are now making, and what OSHA can collect in fines. At the same time, the government’s operation costs are increasing, so it must raise fees and penalties to make up the difference.

The fine increases should improve safety for workers. While companies should focus on the safety in any conditions, the smaller the fine, the less incentive there is for them to keep their workers safe. While the amount is truly marginal compared to the value of life, the increases should discourage corner-cutting on safe work environments.

But it’s important to remember these increases are the result of occupational safety and health laws violations. Companies with a keen eye for safety should be largely unaffected by the policy, though accidents do happen. And these are fines for violations, not accidents, which means they’re primarily a pre-emptive measure to keep workers safe.

How Much Are OSHA Fines Increasing?

On the whole, OSHA fines are increasing 3.2% from 2023 to 2024. This rate hardly keeps up with inflation and the cost of living. But it may prevent companies from losing their focus on safety while helping the government cope with increasing operational costs.

Also, the 3.2% bump is much smaller than the 7.7% increase OSHA imposed from 2022 to 2023.

The fee increases depending on the type of occurrence:

  • The maximum amount for a violation will increase from $15,625 to $16,131 per occurrence.

  • The maximum amount for a willful or repeated violation will increase from $156,259 to $161,323 per violation.

When Will the New Fees Go Into Effect?

They already have.

Under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act (FCPIAA), any agency increasing fees is required to publish rules and make annual adjustments for inflation no later than January 15 each year.

This year, because January 15 was a federal holiday (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day) and government offices were closed, the new penalties went into effect the next day.

The Top 10 OSHA Violations for 2023

OSHA keeps track of all cited violations each year. In the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, the following violation types were most common:

  1. Fall protection violations — general requirements: 7,271;

  2. Hazard communication violations: 3,213;

  3. Ladder violations: 2,978;

  4. Scaffolding violations: 2,859;

  5. Powered industrial truck violations: 2,561;

  6. Lockout/tagout violations: 2,554;

  7. Respiratory protection violations: 2,481;

  8. Fall protection violations — training requirement: 2,112;

  9. Personal protective and lifesaving equipment violations — eye and face protection: 2,074;

  10. Machine guarding violations: 1,644.

What Can Companies Do?

Companies should continue to make workplace safety a top priority for their employees. Violations and citations are overwhelmingly avoidable with the right training, equipment and safety personnel.

Author
Tom Scalisi
Tom Scalisi writes from first-hand experience. He spent over two decades in the trades as a contractor and in industrial maintenance. Today, he writes hundreds of articles each year while also operating several of his websites. When he's not at his desk, he's usually on a baseball or softball field with one of his rec or travel teams.
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Tom Scalisi