Facing OSHA penalties for health and safety violations? Learn the key steps employers can take to reduce fines by documenting good-faith efforts to correct issues.
Table of Contents
Question
Federal inspectors cite an employer for multiple health and safety violations. The employer was already aware of these issues and working to correct them. What measures might the employer take to avoid or reduce penalties?
Answer
Document recent efforts to correct issues. Employers may point to their good-faith efforts to correct issues as a way of reducing OSHA penalties.
Explanation
If an employer is cited by OSHA for health and safety violations that they were already aware of and working to address, the most important step they can take to try to reduce penalties is to document and provide evidence of their recent good-faith efforts to correct the issues.
Under OSHA’s penalty reduction policies, employers may be eligible for a reduction in fines of up to 25% if they can demonstrate that they were proactively taking steps to identify and fix safety hazards prior to the inspection. This is known as the “quick-fix” reduction.
To pursue this penalty reduction, the employer should gather documentation showing the specific actions they had taken to address the violation, such as:
- Records of safety inspections, risk assessments, or audits conducted
- Work orders, receipts, or invoices for repairs or remediation
- Training records showing worker instruction on the hazard
- Revised policies, procedures, or safety plans
- Communication to employees about the issue and correction efforts
- Timeline of when the issue was identified and steps taken
The employer would submit this evidence to OSHA as part of their response to the citation. They may also request an informal conference with OSHA to discuss the situation, present their case for penalty reduction, and negotiate a settlement.
In some cases, employers may be able to get violations reduced from “Serious” to “Other-than-Serious” if they can prove the good-faith steps they were taking to address hazards. Having violations downgraded in this way also reduces penalties.
The key for employers is to document everything – identify and assess hazards early, take prompt corrective actions, involve employees, and keep records of all of it. Having a strong paper trail of good-faith efforts puts employers in the best position to reduce OSHA fines in the event of an eventual citation.
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