OSHA is an organization run by the government of the United States. The abbreviation OSHA stands for Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The mandate of OSHA is to ensure that the working condition of the employer is safe and healthy. This organization cuts across both the public and private sectors. It sets and enforcing standards for the employers for conducive workplaces. Also, they provide training, outreach, education, and assistance. OSHA creates regulations that every employer should put in place in the workplace.
When an organization violates any of the regulations, employers are responsible for them. In this article, we are going to look at the types of OSHA violations. Besides, you will get to know where you can get the violations imposed in the company you are working at. Also, you will get to know how the violations work immediately after you report them to OSHA.
Who is Responsible For OSHA Violations In Workplace?
OSHA establishes the guidelines for a safe workplace for every employer. This is for the safety benefit of all employees. So, employers are the ones held responsible for the OSHA violations. So, this means it is the duty of the employer to train the employees once they get administered in the company. Also, the employer should be conducting regular meetings at the workplace with employees. This is for the purpose of reviewing some of the safety guidelines provided by OSHA. This helps them to adhere to the OSHA regulations and prevent the employer from being on the wrong side of the law.
Additionally, the employer should provide adequate documentation to the employees. The documents should be about safe work conditions. Also, the documents should have workplace accident reports. Also, they should include the medical records for the business among others. They should also include other key responsibilities for every employee. This will help the employer more as well as the employee status. All employers should note that in case of any OSHA violation, they are the ones to bear the consequences.
How Do OSHA Violations Work?
OSHA regulations do not take effect immediately after the reporting of the violation. After OSHA finds the employer in violation of the regulations, the inspection starts. This is without advance notice by compliance offices. Here is the procedure to happens.
- The compliance officers present their credentials.
- After this, they will give a detailed explanation of why they should do an inspection on that site. Also, they will describe the inspection process including the workout procedures. Additionally, the compliance officers will give the employee representation and employees interviews.
- The compliance officer and the facility representative will walk to the workplace. This is for the inspection process of the hazard to start.
- The compliance officers hold talks with both employer and employee representatives. it is during this meeting when they discuss their findings.
- There are only two outcomes here, hazard or no hazard. If they find no hazard, the inspection is over. But, if there is hazard, the inspector will issue a citation or fine. Also, they can issue both of them. Note that the citation shows the methods that the employer can use to fix the problem. Also, it includes the deadline for correcting the issue as well as the completion date of the actions.
How Do You Find OSHA Violations?
It is easy for you to look for OSHA violations attached to your company. This is regardless you are an employee, employer, or business manager. If you want to check the OSHA violations, here is how to go about it.
- Go to its website www.osha.gov.
- On the home page, you will see the “Data and Statistics”. Click here and navigate to “Inspection Data” and then click on “Search by Establishment.”
- The page will load to the next screen. You will now provide the Company’s name in the “Establishment” field.
- You will see a list of all citations associated with the company. All these violations are for a period of 5 years.
- To get greater detail on each set of citations, you will have to click on the heading “Get Detail” on the screen.
Follow the above procedure to get the violation data associated with your company. This will help you as an employer to develop safety measures for the people in your company. Also, having the data will help reduce the issue of violating OSHA regulations.
Types of OSHA Violations With Safety And Prevention Tips
There is a number of violations that OSHA reports every year. If you are an employer, make sure you do not get yourself in one of this. Below are the types of OSHA violations you are likely to encounter.
1. De Minimis
De Minimis violation is a violation that comes without monetary penalty. This occurs when an employer implements a measure different from the one in the standard. The measure may not have a direct or immediate relationship to safety or health. An example may be when a person not working on a roof but HVAC installation sets up a warning line. The line may be like 15’ above the edge of a roof. This may not technically be compliant with OSHA but it recognizes it is risky to the employees. They will issue the de minimis violation because of the installation done..
Safety and prevention tips
- Provide a safety plan.
- Make sure you do everything in accordance with the OSHA regulations.
- Empower your employees.
- Provide supervision of your employees to prevent them from falling.
2. Other-Than-Serious
This type of violation has a direct relationship to workplace health and safety. This means there is a fine issued alongside the penalty. The threats are not an immediate safety concern. But they reflect noncompliance with OSHA standards. Some of these standards may be poor record-keeping among other actions.
The violation issued differs because of different aspects. For example, the fine may depend on the attitude of the business and its history. The other aspect can be the severity of the business. In case they find you violating, they may impose a penalty of up to $7,000 for every violation.
Safety and prevention tips
- Train employees on the OSHA standards.
- Continue giving continuous training to improve the mastering of the rules.
3. Serious
Serious OSHA violations are more severe problems. They are normally perceived to have a high risk of potentials injuries. When you violate such rules, it may lead to death and illness amongst your workers.
If the employer knew about the hazard and did nothing to address the issue that is a serious violation. The maximum penalty for this violation is $13,494. But they can adjust the fine after considering your history. Other factors that can lower the fine include gesture of good faith and the gravity of the violation. The size of the business is another factor that can make the fine get lowered.
Safety and prevention tips
- Improve the training of employees and continuous education.
- Maintain safety data sheets.
- Ensure that you pass the correct information on time to your employees.
4. Willful
This is another type of most serious type of violation. This occurs in situations where you know you are on the wrong side of the law. To make matters worse, you go on to do it with the knowledge that what you are doing is wrong. Such people do not have the sense of changing their behavior even in the midst of the action.
When you contact the willing violation, the penalty is higher because you are willing to. You can pay a fine of up to $134,937 per violation. Now it becomes worse when a worker loses his or her life. This becomes a criminal offense with a maximum fine of $250,000. Also, you can attract jail time. In this violation, there is no adjustment gesture made of good faith.
Safety and prevention tips
- Adhere to all OSHA standard rules.
- Do not ignore any signal that can expose your employees to danger.
- Provide all alerts and signals to employees before the hazard.
5. Repeated
Repeated offenses are normally considered as serious as willful violations. This is because you are not only aware of them, but you were previously cited about them. This means that you did not act to correct the mistake.
The fine for the repeated violation is $134,937 per violation. This is the maximum violation fine you can get for committing this offense. For a violation to be a repeated violation, the original citation must be final.
Safety and prevention tips
- Adhere to the violations cited in the original citation.
- Train your employees about the hazards the inspector cited before.
- Act immediately after the inspection to prevent reoccurring of the same again.
6. Failure to Abate
Failure to abate is another type of OSHO violations. This happens after the citation is complete. The supervisor will give you the date by when the violations should be completely solved. So, if you fail to resolve the issue by the given date, you normally commit the failure to abate the violation.
The maximum fee that you can get because of this violation is $134,494 per day beyond the abatement. Many will ask why this is so high. OSHO wants the employers to correct the issues immediately after the citation. So, if the remedy occurs again, OSHO imposes that fine for all the days. This is from the day of occurrence to the last day you were to solve the problem.
Safety and prevention tips
- Act immediately after the inspection to avoid fines.
- Educate your employees about the danger of the hazards.
- Carefully examine the state of the place to avoid careless rectification.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is a serious types OSHA violations?
A serious violation occurs when a hazard causes an accident or illness that can result in death. It may not necessarily result in death but can result in serious physical harm to the employee. These may be scenarios where the employer did not know of the violation. So, you need to make sure that your employees know the safety measures in case of any danger.
Can OSHA shut down a company after violations?
No, OSHA does not have the power to shut down a business. All that OSHA can do is to order you to alter the services in your workplace. This is after they notice a higher risk in the business that is dangerous to the workers. The only entity that can shut down a business is the court. Besides, it is an extreme decision taken for the court to shut the business.
Can you sue the employer for OSHA violations?
It is not possible for employees to sue the employer for the OSHA violations. If people will push the agenda in the future, Congress may make it possible. As of now, it is only OSHA that can pursue claims under the terms of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Also, the OSHA state plan agency can pursue the OSH Act on employers. It can impose citations and penalties against employers found to violate regulations. What workers can do is to inform the agency about the unsafe working environment. OSHA will then legally protect the whistleblowers.
What are the penalties for different types of OSHA violations?
There are several types of OSHA violations and each has a different fine imposed on them. Below here is a simple breakdown of the violation’s fines.
| Type of Violation | Minimum Penalty | Maximum Penalty |
| Serious | $964 per violation | $13,653 per violation |
| Other-than-serious | $0 per violation | $13,653 per violation |
| Willful or Repeated | $9.63 per violation | $13,532 per violation |
| Posting Requirements | $0 per violation | $13,653 per violation |
| Failure to Abate | N/A | $13,653 per violation |
Those are some of the fines you are likely to get when you violate the OSHA regulations. The intensity of the fine differs as per the several aspects that the inspector can consider. Such can be the size of the business, history of the employer amongst many others.
Is there a reward for reporting OSHA violations?
After the case reported goes in favor of the whistleblower, the individual gets a reward. The reward is normally under their protection program. Generally, whistleblowers are usually entitled to about 15% to 30% of the proceeds from a suit.
Does OSHA file lawsuits?
The lawyers of OSHA can file a lawsuit in case of violation. It is not easy for an employee to file a lawsuit against the employer or third-party owners. With this, the employees can only whistle blow the issue and OSHO will take the action.
Conclusion
Violating OSHA regulations can attract big penalties on employers. As mentioned, it does not matter if you are in the public or private sector. So, if your workplace does not meet the standard set by OSHA, it is better you solve it early. Make sure you do everything to put your workers safe and healthy. This will also put you on the safe side as an employer. No one wants their business’s services altered. So, if you find yourself in one of the above types of OSHA violations, act according to the OSHA regulation. This will make your business run smoothly. We hope that this article helped you.