How much?

 

When a worker dies on the job, there is a price to be paid. Learn how much your company might be cited, depending on various factors.*

Types of violations:

• Each willful violation – one in which the employee knows workers’ lives are at risk – carries a penalty between a minimum $5,000 and a maximum $70,000.
• Each repeated violation carries a penalty between a minimum $5,000 and a maximum $70,000.
• Each serious violation – one in which there is a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm to workers – carries a maximum penalty of $7,000.

Several factors influence the penalty amount for each violation. Among those factors include the gravity of the violation, which is determined by the severity and probability of an injury or illness occurring.

Severity assessment:

• High – Death, permanent disability, or chronic, irreversible illness
• Medium – Injuries or reversible illness resulting in hospitalization, or limited period of disability
• Low – Injuries or reversible illness not resulting in hospitalization
• Minimal – Injury or illness most likely to result will probably not cause death or serious physical harm

Probability assessment:

• Number of workers exposed
• Frequency of exposure
• Employee proximity to hazard
• Use of appropriate personal protective equipment>
• Youth and inexperience of workers

When severity and probability are taken into account, a gravity-based penalty for a serious violation could range as low as $1,500 (low severity and lesser probability) to $5,000 (high severity and greater probability).

Reductions of the penalty amount, up to 95 percent, are possible and are based on:

• Number of employees:
  • 1 to 25 – 60 percent reduction
  • 26 to 100 – 40 percent reduction
  • 101 to 250 – 20 percent reduction
  • 251 or more – no reduction
• Good faith:
  • Companies with a written safety and health program – 25 percent reduction
  • Companies with a documentable safety and health program, but with more than only incidental deficiencies – 15 percent reduction
• History:
  Employers not cited by OSHA for any serious, willful or repeated violations in the past three years – 10 percent reduction

There are some caveats to these reductions. Penalties classified as having a high severity and greater probability can be reduced only based on the company size and history. Companies cannot receive a good faith adjustment if they have been assessed with violations classified as repeated or willful.

Additionally, willful violations can see more of a breakdown in reductions based on the size of the company. For instance, a company with 10 or fewer employees and no recent penalties could receive a reduction up to 90 percent.

Below is a chart that can be used to determine the penalty amount for a willful serious violation based on reductions for company size and OSHA history:

Penalties to be proposed
Total percentage reduction for size and/or history	0%	10%	20%	30%	40%	50%	60%	70%	80%	90%
High Gravity	$70,000	$63,000	$56,000	$49,000	$42,000	$35,000	$28,000	$21,000	$14,000	$7,000
Moderate Gravity	$55,000	$49,000	$44,000	$38,000	$33,000	$27,500	$22,000	$16,500	$11,000	$5,500
Low Gravity	$40,000	$36,000	$32,000	$28,000	$24,000	$20,000	$16,000	$12,000	$8,000	$5,000

 

Source: OSHA Field Inspection Reference Manual

 

 

* Not intended to be an exhaustive list of all possible penalty amounts, reductions or scenarios.

© 2007 National Safety Council