Citations and penalties.OSHA

This OSHA citation and penalty 21.4 million penalty (at the time was almost double the next largest fine in OSHA history). OSHA felt it sent a strong, clear message to all employers. It would emphasis the need to protect workers and to make health and safety a core value. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) was established, when the OSHAct was passed, to conduct hearings when OSHA citations and penalties are contested by employers or by their employees. 

Acquire an understanding of the OSHA citation and penalty processes. 

Associated with each citation is a proposed penalty. If the employer chooses to contest the alleged violations or proposed penalties, they first discuss it with the agency at a conference. If that does not lead to a solution, the case can be presented to an independent OSHRC, which is independent of both OSHA and the Department of Labor. It employs Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) to decide on disputed citations and penalties. There are also appeal levels above the individual AU. 

Ust and explain three different types of OSHA citations and the typical penalties that accompany them. 

Employers have several responsibilities under the OSHA Act (see Figure 19-2), many of which, if they are in noncompliance, can lead to citations and penalties. AVhat follows is a partial list of employer responsibilities. 

The types of citations and penalties that may be proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are from the OSH Act and are listed below. An organization has 15 working days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to either elect to comply with them, to request and participate in an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. 

OSHA can refer a willful citation resulting a fatality to the Justice Department for consideration for criminal prosecution. Any criminal prosecution by the Department of Justice (DOJ) does not impact OSHA authority to issue civil citations and penalties. OSHA can use criminal referral as an enforcement tool. However, most cases involving willful citations do not merit criminal prosecution. 

If you wish to contest any portion of your citation, you must submit to OSHA a Notice of Intent to Contest in writing within 15 working days after receipt of the Citation and Notification of Penalty. This applies even if you have stated your disagreement with a citation, penalty, or abatement date during a telephone conversation or an informal conference. The Notice of Intent to Contest must clearly state what is being contested— the citation, the penalty, the abatement date, or any combination of these factors. In addition, the notice must state whether all the violations on the citation, or just specific violations, are being contested. (For example, I wish to contest the citation and penalty proposed for items 3 and 4 of the citation issued November 1, 2010. )... 

If I have already been cited by OSHA for not following the Part 1904 regulations, will my variance petition have any effect on the citation and penalty No, in addition, the Assistant Secretary may elect not to review your variance petition if it includes an element for which you have been cited and the citation is still under review by a court, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), or the OSH Review Commission. 

Finally, the fact that the injury reduction effects occur over a period of up to three years suggests that the response of management to penalties is not simply to correct the cited violation, which could presumably be done relatively quickly. It seems more likely that, once management s attention is drawn to the question of OHS by a citation and penalty for a specific violation, this triggers a broader review of performance that we suspect goes far beyond a legalistic response to OSHA standards (Gray and Scholz 1993, p. 200). 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). (1996). OSH Act, OSH A standards, inspections, citations and penalties. Available May 30, 2013, at http //www.osha.gov/ doc/outreachtraining/htmlfiles/introsha.html... 

The OSHAct makes employers responsible for providing safe and healthy working conditions for their employees. OSHA is authorized, however, to conduct inspections, and when violations of the safety and health standards are found, they can issue citations and financial penalties. Highlights of OSHA enforcement rights are illustrated in Table 3-2. 

The refinery manager reportedly strongly disagreed with OSHA s characterizations of the alleged violations as willful and planned to contest that and a number of other claims. [23] Typically, there are informal conferences and other opportunities to appeal between OSHA and the cited company before the final penalty is established. According to the OSHA database, the initial penalty was 118,500 and was settled for as 96,426. [24] I recognize the newspaper reports of the penalty and the OSHA database published penalties are very different. A very short insight on OSHA citations will follow. 

Typically the OSHA Area Director approves and signs the citation that lists the violations, the seriousness of such violations and proposed penalty amounts. If the employee wants to discuss the citation and the alleged violations, he can request an informal conference to better understand the details. Should the employer choose to contest the citation, he has 15 days from the date of issuance of the citation to provide a notice of contest letter to... 

Farmers, ranchers, and businesses are subject to routine general inspections by OSHA. The first time an inspection shows a business is not complying with the Hazard Communication Standard, OSHA can issue a noncompliance citation and a penalty of up to 1,000. Usually, the business is allowed 15 to 30 days to correct the problem. A business that does not correct the noncompliance(s) may be subject to additional penalties of up to 10,000 per violation. 

After almost 10 years of aggressive enforcement, Occupational Safety and Health Administration s (OSHA) Hazard Communication rule remains the agency s standard that results in the most numerous fines and penalties. From October 2001 to September 2002, OSHA wrote 2,073 citations for Hazard Communication (HAZCOM) violations that totaled 680,000. The citations occurred because most of the hazard communication programs and their site enforcement were very deficient. In 2010, Hazard Communication violations remained high on the list of the top 10 violated standards and unchanged at number three on the list (Thomas Galassi, 2010, MSDSonline Environmental, Health Safety Blog). 

An OSHA citation informs the employer of OSHA violations. Penalties are fines assessed as the result of citations. In March 1991, civil monetary penalties were increased sevenfold. The maximum allowable penalty is 70,000 for each willful or repeated violation, and 7,000 for each serious or other-than serious violation as well as 7,000 per day beyond a stated abatement date for failure to correct a violation. Examples of very large penalties paid out are ... 

OSHA compliance officers can enter workplaces at reasonable times where work is taking place, inspect condition, facility machine, equipment, or materials, and question in private an employee or other person formally associated with the company. OSHA is empowered to issue citations and/or set penalties. Citations are issued for (a) other than serious violations, (b) willful violations, (c) repeat violations, and (d) failure to correct prior violations. 

Enclosed you will find a copy of a Citation and Notification of Penalties for violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which were issued to [establishment name, located in city, state]. This case has been identified as a severe violator enforcement case under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration s (OSHA) Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). 

Issued by the representative of the Assistant Secretary of Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Area Director, which alleges conditions that violate specific maritime, construction, or general industry occupational safety and health standards (OSH Act). If OSHA issues a citation and notification of penalty, the citation should describe the specifics of the alleged violation, fix a reasonable time for abatement, and propose alternate penalties. When an employer receives a citation under the OSH Act, it must post an unedited copy of it at or near each place an alleged violation occurred or where affected employees ean see it even if the employer is planning to contest it. The citation must be posted for three days or until the violation is abated, whichever is longer. See also De Minimus Citation OSHA Violation(s). 

After the walkaround, the compliance officer holds a closing conference with the employer and the employee representatives to discuss the findings. The compliance officer discusses possible courses of action an employer may take following an inspection, which could include an informal conference with OSHA or contesting citations and proposed penalties. The comphance officer also discusses consultation and employee rights. 

The OSHA Area Director is the person who actually determines if citations will be issued. OSHA must issue a citation and proposed penalty within six months of the violation s occmrence. 

Before deciding whether to file a Notice of Intent to Contest, the employer may request an informal conference with the OSHA Area Director to discuss the Citation and Notification of Penalty. You may use this opportunity to do any of the following ... 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) OSHA develops and implements standards and regulations, conducts inspections and investigations to assure compliance, issues citations and proposes penalties for violations. It also provides help to employers in meeting standards and regulations through consultations, training programs, and publications. 

The general duty clause extends OSHA s authority beyond the specific requirements of the standards when a recognized workplace hazard exists or potentially exists. It is often used when no specific standard applies to a recognized hazard in the workplace. The general duty clause has been used as the basis for numerous OSHA citations. Millions of dollars are collected as a result of these citations. Few other sections of the OSHA standards (Parts 1910 and 1926) cost more in penalties for OSHA violations than Section 5(a)(1). OSHA may also use the general duty clause when a standard exists, but it is clear that the hazards involved warrant additional precautions beyond what the current safety standards require. 

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