The U.S. Department of Labor has announced changes to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration civil penalty adjusted to account for inflation in 2025.
In 2015, Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act to further the effectiveness of civil financial penalties and to continue their deterrent effect. Under this Act, agencies must publish “catch-up” rules to account for inflation in civil monetary penalties and adjust their level annually no later than January 15 of each year.
Beginning Jan 15, 2025, the maximum OSHA penalties for serious and other-than-serious violations will go up $419, from $16,131 to $16,550 per violation. The maximum penalty for willful or repeated violations will increase $4,191, from $161,323 to $165,514 per violation. Employers should be aware of these changes when faced with violations, and even when not for potential future violations.