The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 was signed into law by President Obama on November 2, 2015. Section 701, “Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015” requires OSHA to increase its civil penalties for the first time since 1990. A one-time “Catch Up Adjustment” will occur in 2016 with penalties increasing up to a cap of 150%. Increases will be calculated based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) between 1990-2015 and indications are that increases will be significant but less than the 150% cap. The next step is that Dr. Michaels, Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, will adjust civil monetary penalties through an interim final rulemaking and the adjustment will come into effect by August 1, 2016 at the latest.

The Act contains an exception which allows an Agency to adjust civil monetary penalties by less than the required amount if certain provisions are met and ultimately approved by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). However, this seems an unlikely direction given Dr. Michaels statement last month before the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections:

Simply put, OSHA penalties must be increased to provide a real disincentive for employers accepting injuries and worker deaths as a cost of doing business.

We will continue updates as they become available.

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Photo of Tressi L. Cordaro Tressi L. Cordaro

Tressi L. Cordaro is a Principal in the Washington, D.C. Region office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She is co-leader of the firm’s Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group. She advises and represents employers on occupational safety and health matters before federal and state…

Tressi L. Cordaro is a Principal in the Washington, D.C. Region office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She is co-leader of the firm’s Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group. She advises and represents employers on occupational safety and health matters before federal and state OSHA enforcement agencies.

Ms. Cordaro has advised employers faced with willful and serious citations as the result of catastrophic events and fatalities, including citations involving multi-million dollar penalties. Ms. Cordaro’s approach to representing an employer cited by OSHA is to seek an efficient resolution of contested citations, reserving litigation as the option if the client’s business objectives cannot otherwise be achieved. As a result, she has secured OSHA withdrawals of citations without the need for litigation.

Ms. Cordaro’s unique experience with government agencies involved in OSHA enforcement enables her to provide employers with especially insightful guidance as to how regulators view OSHA compliance obligations, and evaluate contested cases.

Ms. Cordaro served as the Presidentially-appointed Legal Counsel and Special Advisor to the past Chairman and Commissioner Horace A. Thompson, III at the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC) in Washington, DC, the agency that adjudicates contested federal OSHA citations. As the Commissioner’s chief counsel, Ms. Cordaro analyzed all cases presented to the OSHRC and advocated the Commissioner’s position during decisional meetings.

In addition, Ms. Cordaro worked at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration developing OSHA standards, regulations and enforcement and compliance policies, with emphasis on the construction industry. She has in-depth experience on technical issues including, in particular, issues related to cranes and derricks in construction.

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