SAFETY CRAIG CONSULTING
Industry Links


Occupational Safety and Health Administration
www.osha.gov

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
www.cdc.gov/NIOSH


Board of Certified Safety Professionals
www.bcsp.org/csp

Kentucky Office for Occupational Safety and Health
http://www.labor.ky.gov/ows/osh/

American Society of Safety Engineers
www.asse.org

American's Largest On Line Safety Library
www.safetyinfo.com

3M Products for Safety and Health
http://www.shop3m.com/safety-products.html

National Fire Protection Association
www.nfpa.org

American National Standards Institute
www.ansi.org

National Safety Council
www.nsc.org

Important Facts

• CITATIONS ARE COSTLY! OSHA has implemented a new penalty structure for commercial contractors. Simply put, citations that cost hundreds of dollars just a few years ago have now escalated into the thousands of dollars for each violation. A lack of safety training DOES provide grounds for citations.
• Kentucky's occupational fatality statistics are 72.5% higher than the national average*, clearly proving the need for proper training and education.
  *(Kentucky Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation.)
• OSHA MANDATES CERTAIN STANDARDS! Companies shall make a commitment to certain standards by requiring written programs be developed and implemented. Please remember that OSHA requirements for written programs are the bare minimum. Please see read below for additional information on the updated penalty structure. Some of these required programs are:
  • Permit-Required Confined Space Entry
  • Lockout/Tagout - Control of Hazardous Energy
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan
  • Emergency Action Plan
  • Hazard Communications/Employee Right-to-Know
  • Chemical Hygiene Plan
  • Construction Site Accident Plan
    
    
• **CITATIONS ISSUED BY THE AREA DIRECTOR - After the compliance officer reports findings, the area director determines what citations, if any, will be issued, and what penalties, if any, will be proposed. Citations inform the employer and employees of the regulations and standards alleged to have been violated and of the proposed length of time set for their abatement. The employer will receive citations and notices of proposed penalties by certified mail. The employer must post a copy of each citation at or near the place a violation occurred, for three days or until the violation is abated, whichever is longer.

Penalties

These are the types of violations that may be cited and the penalties that may be proposed:

• Other Than Serious Violation - A violations that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm. A proposed penalty of up to $7,000 for each violation is discretionary. A penalty for an other-than-serious violation may be adjusted downward by as much as 95% depending on the employer's good faith (demonstrated efforts to comply with the Act,) history of previous violations, and size of business. When the adjusted penalty amounts to less than $100, no penalty is proposed.
• Serious Violation - A violation where there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and that the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard. A mandatory penalty of up to $7,000 for each violation is proposed. A penalty for a serious violation may be adjusted downward based on the employer's good faith, history of previous violations, the gravity of the alleged violation, and size of business
• Willful Violation - A violation that the employer knowingly commits or commits with plain indifference to the law. The employer with knows that what he or she is doing constitutes a violation, or is aware that a hazardous condition existed and made no reasonable effort to eliminate it.

• Penalties of up to $70,000 may be proposed for each willful violation, with a minimum of $5,000 for each violation. A proposed penalty for a willful violation may be adjusted downward, depending on the size of the business and its history of previous violations. Usually no credit if given for good faith.
• If an employer is convicted of a willful violation of a standard that has resulted in the death of an employee, the offense is punishable by a court-imposed fine or by imprisonment for up to six months, or both. A fine of up to $250,000 for an individual, or $500,000 for a corporation may be imposed for a criminal conviction.
• Repeated Violation - A violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order where upon reinspection, a substantially similar violation can bring a fine of up to $70,000 for each such violation. To be the basis of a repeated citation, the original citation must be final; a citation under contest may not serve as the basis for a subsequent repeated citation.
• Failure to Abate Prior Violation- Failure to abate a prior violation may bring civil penalties of up to $7,000 for each day the violation continues beyond the prescribed abatement date.
• De Minimis Violation- De Minimis violations are violations of standards which have no direct or immediate relationship to safety or health. Whenever de minimis conditions are found during an inspection, they are documented in the same way as any other violation, but are not included on the citation.

Additional Violations For Which Citations and Proposed Penalties May Be Issued Upon Conviction:

• Falsifying records, reports or applications can bring a fine of $10,000 or up to six months in jail or both.
• Violations of posting requirements can bring a civil penalty of up to $7,000.
• Assaulting a compliance officer, or otherwise resisting, opposing, intimidating or interfering with a compliance officer while they are engaged in the performance of their duties is a CRIMINAL OFFENSE, subject to a fine of not more than $5,000 and imprisonment for not more than three years.

Citation and penalty procedures may differ somewhat in states with their own occupational safety and health programs.

**All information is documented at www.osha.gov.