A provision in the budget bill recently signed by President Obama raised U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration raises fines for workplace safety violations for the first time in 25 years.
The measure that brings penalties in line with inflation increases since 1990 also requires future OSHA and state agency penalty hikes to continue to rise with inflation. OSHA has not announced the exact increase, but it could be as much as an 80% jump.
The agency must decide on the increased percentage by mid-2016. Industry experts told The Wall Street Journal they were surprised by the provision, which would likely raise maximum penalties for the most severe violations from $70,000 to $125,000, and other serious violations from $7,000 to $12,500.
Safety advocates hailed the new measure, saying it was a step in the right direction to make workplaces safer. Last year, the average fine for an incident resulting in a worker's death was $7,000, and then reduced to $5,050 after settlement talks, according to the AFL-CIO.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Mar 25, 2016
OSHA finalizes new silica dust regulations
Construction industry has until June 2017 to comply.
Contractors | Mar 24, 2016
ABC: Construction Backlog expands at the close of 2015
Uptick suggests high demand for construction workers will continue.
Market Data | Mar 1, 2016
ABC: Nonresidential spending regains momentum in January
Nonresidential construction spending expanded 2.5% on a monthly basis and 12.3% on a yearly basis, totaling $701.9 billion. Spending increased in January in 10 of 16 nonresidential construction sectors.
Market Data | Mar 1, 2016
Leopardo releases 2016 Construction Economics Report
This year’s report shows that spending in 2015 reached the highest level since the Great Recession. Total spending on U.S. construction grew 10.5% to $1.1 trillion, the largest year-over-year gain since 2007.
Market Data | Feb 26, 2016
JLL upbeat about construction through 2016
Its latest report cautions about ongoing cost increases related to finding skilled laborers.
Contractors | Feb 25, 2016
Huntsville’s Botanical Garden starts work on new Guest Welcome Center
The 30,000-sf facility will feature three rental spaces of varying sizes.
Architects | Feb 24, 2016
Is the booming freelance economy a threat to AEC firms?
By shifting the work (and revenue) to freelancers, “platform capitalism” startups have taken considerable market share from traditional businesses.
Religious Facilities | Feb 22, 2016
For the first time in Bulgaria, a temple’s construction raises a metal dome
The church is 2½ times larger than the basilica in Ukraine it references.
Market Data | Feb 10, 2016
Nonresidential building starts and spending should see solid gains in 2016: Gilbane report
But finding skilled workers continues to be a problem and could inflate a project's costs.
Contractors | Feb 2, 2016
ABC: Nonresidential spending falls again in December
For a second consecutive month, 12 of 16 nonresidential subsectors experienced spending decreases on a monthly basis.