The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) establishes guidelines for employers to maintain a safe work environment. They also levy penalties against businesses for violations. Recently, all penalties underwent a 7% increase due to inflation. But the rising fines don’t stop there.
A policy introduced last week will take effect after 60 days known as Instance-By-Instance penalty adjustments – IBI Citations. Not only are all penalties significantly higher, but OSHA can now treat serious violations individually rather than grouping them. Instead of one penalty for failing to repair some faulty machines, a business can be penalized for each piece of equipment cited. The same can be said if multiple people were hurt in a single reported instance – penalties could follow for each employee injured.
IBI Citations are meant for violations that are willful, repeat, or failing to rectify previous violations. OSHA’s goal is to encourage businesses to take compliance seriously, decreasing health and safety issues in the workplace. If your business has a history of OSHA violations, you should double down on compliance before paying the price.
Revolution Law Group is located in Greensboro, NC, and serves individuals and small businesses throughout the Triad and surrounding areas. To contact us please visit Revolution.law or call 336-333-7907.
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