Your team needs a solid understanding of OSHA violations to avoid fines and penalties. OSHA inspections can lead to a variety of OSHA violation types, each with its own criteria and consequences. What are the types of OSHA violations your team should be concerned about? Let’s take a closer look at each category and the steps you can take to avoid citations.
Other-than-serious violations are among the less severe types of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations. However, that doesn’t mean they can be ignored. OSHA uses this label for violations that pose a clear health and safety risk but are unlikely to cause death or serious injury. These violations serve as early warnings to make corrections and improve hazard communication, personal protective equipment, and OSHA training before they lead to major incidents. Preventing them is a key aspect of occupational safety and health.
This category can include OSHA violations in the workplace, such as incomplete labels, missing safety posters, or incomplete records for OSHA-mandated training programs. If your team is tracking safety documentation with outdated processes, then it can be easy to let important details slip by and lead to other-than-serious violations.
Other-than-serious violations can still incur penalties of up to $16,550 per violation. In many cases, inspectors reduce or even waive minor OSHA violation fines, but your team shouldn’t count on that. Every citation still affects your history and can contribute to more costly repeated violations in the future.
An OSHA serious violation covers cases where there is a substantial probability that a hazard could cause death or serious injury if an incident occurs. What happens when OSHA standards are violated this severely? Workers are at real risk of life-changing injuries, so immediate action is necessary to resolve the hazard.
Some examples of serious OSHA violations in the workplace can include unguarded machinery, missing fall protection, uncontrolled exposure to hazardous chemicals, skipped training requirements, and improper lockout/tagout. These hazards might feel normal in a workplace where they’ve always been present, but the underlying risk is there, and it could only be a matter of time.
Serious violations have maximum OSHA penalties of up to $16,550 per violation. Unlike other-than-serious violations, receiving the maximum penalty is much more likely, with each violation weighed on severity and probability. Amounts may be reduced for smaller employers and documented good faith, but multiple violations quickly become very expensive for any organization.
Willful violations are the most severe of the OSHA violation types. A willful case means that leadership was aware of the hazard and failure to meet requirements under OSHA’s 29 CFR rules, but made the conscious decision not to act. During an investigation, OSHA reviews documents, emails, and testimony to look for signs that deliberate inaction contributed to the violation.
Evidence for OSHA cases concerning willful violations can include prior citations for the same hazard, existing reports recommending controls, or worker complaints that never triggered meaningful action. Written procedures that exist only on paper but not in practice can also indicate that management knowingly disregarded its legal obligations concerning risks.
The penalty is significantly increased for willful violations, with a maximum of $165,514 per violation. Some reductions can be applied based on company size and history, but OSHA violation fines can escalate rapidly if the investigation of a willful violation leads to additional citations.
Repeated violations are cases where a problem from a previous violation was never fully resolved. If a similar hazard was previously cited, then a repeated violation can be applied, including those at other facilities under the same controlling employer.
When an OSHA inspection reveals a hazard, the company is responsible for addressing not only that instance but any other examples across its organization. When engineering changes, procedures, and training are only applied locally, the hazard persists at other facilities. This sets the stage for repeated OSHA violations in the workplace, with higher penalties during later inspections.
What happens when OSHA standards are violated repeatedly? Organizations face penalties up to $165,514 per violation. The only applicable reductions are based on company size, so even seemingly minor hazards can become incredibly costly when classified as repeats.
Organizations can also face additional OSHA penalties due to failure to abate. This is a follow-up citation issued when a previously identified hazard persists after the set abatement deadline. Penalties have a maximum of up to $16,550 per day, allowing the total cost to escalate rapidly.
Failure to abate and willful, repeated, and serious violations can lead to an employer being placed in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). This serves as a watch list that brings mandatory follow-up inspections, severe enforcement, and public posting that highlights an organization’s recent OSHA violations to any potential stakeholders.
The direct impact of OSHA violation fines is only one aspect of the consequences organizations face. Additional financial impacts arise from increased workers’ compensation modifiers and higher premiums for liability coverage. Insurers pay close attention to OSHA violations in the workplace.
Companies also face greater scrutiny from potential clients and are less likely to gain supplier approval or win bids. OSHA violations also impact a company’s reputation and impact ESG ratings, which makes gaining investors and partners more difficult.
OSHA citations trigger a variety of follow-up requirements, including retraining, internal investigations, and engineering projects to address hazards. Remediating hazards often requires halting production, potentially for an extended period of time. These expenses can quickly harm a company’s bottom line.
Employee morale and trust are also affected by OSHA violations. If your workers don’t feel that your organization is taking adequate steps to ensure their safety, then they will be quick to go elsewhere at the first opportunity.
ERA’s Compliance Management Software enables your team to keep up with the many duties required to avoid OSHA violations. You can rely on straightforward calendars and automated reminders to tackle important compliance tasks, including inspections, audits, training, and preventive and corrective actions.
Custom reports and KPIs make tracking task completion easy for leadership teams, with a clear picture of ongoing progress at a glance. Tasks can be generated and assigned through a streamlined workflow that ensures compliance obligations are met across multiple facilities, teams, and roles. You can quickly apply changes at one facility to your entire organization to avoid costly repeated violations.
The platform also ensures a clear evidence trail that supports good-faith arguments if hazards are identified by OSHA inspections. Thorough documentation highlights your organization’s commitment to workplace health and safety and reduces your risk of facing significant OSHA penalties.
Knowing the factors that contribute to the four main types of OSHA violations will help your team take action to avoid OSHA penalties. Implementing the oversight, training, inspections, audits, and other compliance tasks can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Schedule a discovery call with one of our project analysts today to see how ERA’s Compliance Management Software can support your team.
Contributing Scientist of This Article: