answerTo enforce its standards, OSHA is authorized under the OSH Act to conduct workplace inspections. Every establishment covered by the OSH Act is subject to inspection by OSHA compliance safety and health officers (CSHOs) who are chosen for their knowledge and experience in the occupational safety and health field. CSHOs are thoroughly trained in OSHA standards and in the recognition of safety and health hazards. Similarly, states with their own occupational safety and health programs conduct inspections using qualified state CSHOs.
OSHA conducts two general types of inspections: programmed and unprogrammed. There are various OSHA publications and documents which describe in detail OSHA's inspection policies and procedures. Unprogrammed inspections respond to fatalities, catastrophes and complaints, the last of which is further detailed in OSHA's complaint policies and procedures.
The following are the types of violations that may be cited and the penalties that may be proposed:
--Other-Than-Serious Violation: A violation 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 percent, depending on the employer's good faith (demonstrated efforts to comply with the OSH Act), history of previous violations, and size of business. When the adjusted penalty amounts to less than $50, 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 intentionally and knowingly commits. The employer either knows that what he or she is doing constitutes a violation, or is aware that a hazardous condition exists and has made no reasonable effort to eliminate it.
The OSH Act provides that an employer who willfully violates the OSH Act may be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $70,000 but not less than $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 is 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 [authorized under the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 (1984 CCA), not the OSH Act], 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 is found. Repeated violations can bring a fine of up to $70,000 for each such violation. To be the basis of a repeat citation, the original citation must be final; a citation under contest may not serve as the basis for a subsequent repeat citation.
--Failure to Correct Prior Violation: Failure to correct a prior violation may bring a civil penalty of up to $7,000 for each day the violation continues beyond the prescribed abatement date.
Additional violations for which citations and proposed penalties may be issued are as follows:
--Falsifying records, reports or applications can bring a fine of $10,000 or up to six months in jail, or both;
--Assaulting a compliance officer, or otherwise resisting, opposing, intimidating, or interfering with a compliance officer in the performance of his or her duties is a criminal offense, subject to a fine of not more than $250,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a corporation (1984 CCA) 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.