Employers need oversight and monitoring in order to ensure that they comply with all safety laws and regulations designed to protect their workers. Unfortunately, state and federal agencies which have been charged with the task of conducting investigations and imposing penalties, are understaffed. This means investigations into worksites very rarely happen, so many employers don’t feel the need to comply with the rules.
Absent an increase in inspections, one of the best ways to ensure companies do what they are supposed to is to impose substantial fines and penalties if the company’s non-compliance with safety rules has adverse consequences. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the federal agency which should impose big penalties on employers who purposefully put employee safety at risk, especially in situations where the victim of the incident is killed. Unfortunately, Safety News Alert reported recently that OSHA is giving far too many reductions in fines — even in cases where workers are killed.
Companies should not be able to just get away with hurting or killing workers while facing minimal penalties. If you or someone you love was hurt or killed, it is a good idea to talk with a New York workers’ compensation law firm to find out what options you have for pursuing a claim for benefits.
OSHA Lowering Fines Even in Cases of Worker Death
According to the article from Safety News Alert, the Center for Progressive Reform recently conducted a study on OSHA fines after employee deaths. The study revealed that OSHA reduces fines by an average of 36 percent in cases where a worker is killed. OSHA, in other words, decides what penalty the company should pay for causing a worker death but then does not make the company pay the full amount.
OSHA will enter into settlement agreements with companies in order to try to get them to fix issues quickly. For example, OSHA may consent to a substantial cut in imposed penalties if the employer establishes new safety procedures and provides for follow-up inspections to determine if the improvements are in place. While it is laudable that OSHA tries to encourage employer to fix their safety issues, the cuts in penalties end up with employers paying almost nothing in a lot of situations. For example:
- In cases where workers died, the median initial penalty imposed by OSHA was just $9,800. The median penalties actually paid ended up at $6,300.
- The initial median penalty was $140,000 in cases where willful violations occur and OSHA issued citations due to employee complaints, The final median penalty ended up at $98,000, which was a 30 percent reduction.
- The initial median penalty was $19,940 in cases against poultry processors, but the final penalty paid was $7,000. This is 46 percent reduction.
OSHA penalties went up on August 1, 2016, so OSHA may now impose higher penalties. Hopefully, OSHA won’t give such big discounts going forward so companies will be held more accountable by the higher fines. Regardless of what OSHA does, however, injured workers should explore options for recovering benefits with help from Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff & Wolff.
