Penalty factors.OSHA

Once a base penalty has been calculated using the Gravity-Based Penalty system, OSHA may then assign a reduction based on certain factors, including size of the employer. The size adjustment factor allows for the following maximum penalty reductions ... 

Several types of categories of violations are available to describe the degree seriousness of the charge. Three of the more commonly seen classes of violations are willful, serious and other-than-serious. A willful violation is defined as one committed by an employer with either an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to the requirements of the regulation. To support a willful violation, OSHA must generally demonstrate that the employee knew the facts about the cited condition and knew the regulation required the situation to be corrected. OSHA s penalty policy requires that the initial penalties for violations shall be between 25,000 and 70,000 based upon a number of factors. 

OSHA assesses penalties with consideration to four factors ... 

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. )... 

Repeat violation citations are issued when the original violation has been abated, but upon reinspection, another violation of the previously cited section of a standard is noted. They may be inadvertent, but if they are found to be willful, both a willful and a repeat citation may be issued. For a first repeat violation, penalties assessed are multiplied by a factor of 2 for employers with less than 251 employees and by 5 for larger employers. The multiplier goes to 5 for a second repeat offense for small employers and 10 for large. OSHA regional administrators have the authority to use a multiplication factor of up to 10 for small employers in order to achieve the necessary deterrent effect. Failure to abate within the prescribed period can result in a penalty for each day of the violation beyond the abatement date. 

Proposed penalties can vary depending on the statutory factors, such as employer size, gravity of violation, good faith of the employer, and the history of previous violations. OSHA penalties do not correspond to or reflect the value of a worker s life or the cost of injury or illness. The act contains a provision that permits OSHA to document when an employer willfully violates an OSHA standard. 

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