Are you a “severe violator?” A look at OSHA’s enforcement program
(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.)
Since taking office in 2009, it’s been no secret that the Obama administration has been advancing a melting-pot of initiatives (tap here) to beef-up OSHA’s enforcement efforts. The Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP) is one of them.
News Release: U.S. Dept. of Labor – Apr. 22, 2010 – Washington – “Everyday, about 14 Americans fail to come home from work to their families. Tens of thousands die from workplace disease and more than 4.6 million workers are seriously injured on the job annually. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), in an effort to address urgent safety and health problems facing Americans in the workplace, is implementing a new Severe Violator Enforcement Program and increasing civil penalty amounts.”
In part, OSHA created the SVEP because of heavy scrutiny they had received from Congress and the DOL’s Inspector General in 2009 when it was concluded that OSHA did not take sufficient enforcement measures against recalcitrant employers as required by the now defunct Enhanced Enforcement Program (EEP).
On June 18, 2010 OSHA replaced the EEP with the SVEP in order to boost up enforcement efforts against employers who have demonstrated particular brands of ‘indifference’ to workplace safety. The SVEP focuses on employers who may have ‘committed willful, repeated, or failure-to-abate violations in one or more of the following circumstances:’ 1) A fatality or catastrophe situation; 2) Plant operations or processes that expose employees to the most severe occupational hazards; 3) Employees who are exposed to hazards related to the potential release of a highly hazardous chemical; 4) All egregious enforcement actions.
The DOL’s news release went on to state; “In 2009 OSHA assembled a work group to evaluate its penalty policies and found currently assessed penalties were too low to have an adequate deterrent effect. Based on the group’s findings and recommendations, several administrative changes to the penalty calculation system, outlined in the agency’s Field Operations Manual were made. The penalty changes will increase the overall dollar amount of all penalties while maintaining OSHA’s policy of reducing penalties for small employers and those acting in good faith.”
The DOL’s news release continued; “The current maximum penalty for a serious violation, one capable of causing death or serious physical harm, is only $7,000 and the maximum penalty for a willful violation is $70,000. The average penalty for a serious violation will increase from about $1,000 to an average $3,000 to $4,000. Monetary penalties for violations of the OSH Act have been increased only once in 40 years despite inflation. The Protecting America’s Workers Act would raise these penalties, for the first time since 1990, to 12,000 and $250,000, respectively. Future penalty increases would also be tied to inflation.”
OSHA’s new-fangled commitment towards OSHA violations increases the risk of citations and fines to all employers. Employers need to be extra vigilant of potential hazards and illnesses at their worksite and review and verify that their current compliance programs, policies and procedures are in order.
What’s your take of the SVEP and OSHA’s vulpine and innovative penalty calculation policies? What do you think of President Obama’s renascent efforts (tap here) to bolster OSHA?
Steve Sayer
