U.S. Department of Labor Announces Increases to OSHA Civil Penalties
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor announced changes to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) civil penalty amounts based on cost-of-living adjustments for 2023.
In 2015, Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act to advance the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties and to maintain their deterrent effect. Under the Act, agencies are required to publish “catch-up” rules that adjust the level of civil monetary penalties and make subsequent annual adjustments for inflation no later than January 15 of each year. This year, Jan. 15 fell on a Sunday and Jan. 16 is a federal holiday. Therefore, new OSHA penalty amounts will become effective Jan. 17, 2023.