Washington – OSHA recently informed regional administrators of the steps employers must take to be removed from the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program (.pdf file).

In an Aug. 16 memorandum, Thomas Galassi, director of OSHA's Directorate of Enforcement Programs, explained that employers may be removed when:

• They have been in SVEP for three years after the final resolution of their SVEP inspection citation
• All violations have been abated and all final penalties paid, and the employer has followed all settlement provisions and has not received any additional serious citations related to the hazards found in the SVEP inspection

The removal policy went into effect immediately.

SVEP focuses OSHA inspections on employers who have previously shown indifference to agency requirements, and includes mandatory inspections and corporatewide agreements.