OSHA penalties normally increase annually on January 15 of each year to account for inflation. These adjustments are designed to ensure that penalties remain aligned with the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”). Currently, the maximum penalties for serious, and other-than-serious posting requirements is $16,550 per violation; $16,550 per day for failure to abate violations; and $165,514 for willful or repeat classifications. The amounts did not increase in 2026 primarily due to the lapse in appropriations in early October 2025 which disrupted BLS operations and prevented the collection and publication of the required CPI data.

OSHA has the authority to propose the appropriate penalty during the inspection. The amount proposed, however, merely becomes advisory when an employer timely contests the matter. Ultimately, it is the province of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (“Commission”) to assess all civil penalties which it determines de novo. The Act requires that due consideration be given the employer’s size, the gravity of the violation, the good faith of the employer, and any prior history of violations. The penalty factors are not necessarily accorded equal weight. It is the purview of the Commission to assign the weight that is reasonable under the circumstances. The Secretary of Labor has the burden to introduce evidence bearing on the factors and explain how he arrived at the penalty proposed. Gravity is typically the most important factor in determining an appropriate penalty and turns on the number of employees exposed, the duration of the exposure, the precautions taken against the injury and the likelihood that an injury would occur (commonly referred to as a gravity-based assessment).

Virtually every contested citation will challenge the penalty amount, among other things. Employers can review these factors in helping to make an informed decision whether contesting citations strictly for a reduction in penalty makes sense.

As part of OSHA’s efforts to enhance compliance assistance, it launched its “Safety Champions Program” (SCP) effective February 24, 2026. SCP is a new program for employers to develop and implement an effective safety and health program. The SCP incorporates seven core elements of OSHA’s Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs which are: (1) management leadership; (2) worker protection; (3) hazard identification and assessment; (4) hazard prevention and control; (5) education and training; (6) program evaluation and improvement; and (7) communication and coordination for host employers, contractors, and staffing agencies.

In June 2025, the United States Department of Labor announced a planned expansion of its opinion letter program intended to increase compliance assistance across several agencies including OSHA. The initiative is intended to reinforce OSHA’s commitment to offering valuable compliance assistance for workers, employers, and other stakeholders to help them comprehend how federal labor laws might apply to specific workplace situations. OSHA’s letter of interpretation provide official explanations of the agency’s requirements and how they apply to specific workplace situations and hazardous conditions raised by employers, employees, or other parties.

The OSHA Chronicle would like to thank the team at Matrix New World Engineering for its guest blog article.

Whether you’re operating a small print shop, a food processing plant, or an advanced manufacturing facility, chances are your employees encounter a variety of chemicals on a daily basis. Some of these may be obvious, like solvents or disinfectants, while others are more subtle, such as vapors released during routine processes.

OSHA recently renewed its national emphasis program focused on preventing amputations in manufacturing, effective June 27. The national emphasis program will remain in place for five years, and programmed inspections may begin on September 25. The renewal of the program is not surprising, given that LOTO and machine guarding are continuously listed in OSHA’s annual Top 10 most frequently cited standards. Amputations are also a common reason why manufacturing employers are required to self-report a severe injury, which typically triggers an OSHA inspection.

A recent standard interpretation letter dated April 29, 2025, addressed whether employers may use software-generated documents in place of the OSHA-required injury and illness recordkeeping forms, specifically Forms 300 (injury log) and 300A (annual summary).