Penalties, and Other Enforcement Measures

If violations of OSHA standards are detected during an inspection, the citations will include the following information  

Upon receipt of the penalty notification, the employer has 15 working days to submit a notice of contest, which must be given to the workers authorized representative or, if no representative exists, it must be posted in a prominent location in the workplace. During the 15 days, it is recommended that the employer first request an informal conference with the area director. During the informal conference, the issues concerning the citations and penalties can be discussed. If the employer is not satisfied, a notice of contest can be filed. An employer who has filed a notice of contest may withdraw it before the hearing date by 

Workers can contest the length of the time period for abatement of a citation. They may also contest the employer s petition for an extension of time for correcting the hazard. Workers mnst do this within 10 working days of posting. Workers cannot contest the 

Copies of the citation should be posted near the violation s location for at least 3 days or until the violation is abated, whichever is longer. Violations are categorized in the following manner (Table 16.3)  

In describing these violations, the de minimis is the least serious and carries no penalty since it violates a standard that has no direct or immediate relationship to safety and health. An other-than-serious violation would probably not cause death or serious harm, but could have a direct effect on the safety or health of anployees. Serious violations are those where a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm could result Willful violations are violations where an employer has deliberately, voluntarily, or intentionally violated a standard. In addition, repeat violations are ones that occur within 3 years of an original citation. The values or penalties applied to citations are based on four criteria  

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CHALLENGING CITATIONS, PENALTIES, AND OTHER ENFORCEMENT MEASURES... 

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