OSHA binder

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced changes to Occupational Safety and Health Administration civil penalty amounts based on cost-of-living adjustments for 2024. 

In 2015, Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act to advance the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties and to maintain their deterrent effect. Under the Act, agencies are required to publish "catch-up" rules that adjust the level of civil monetary penalties and make subsequent annual adjustments for inflation no later than January 15 of each year. This year, January 15 falls on a federal holiday. Therefore, new OSHA penalty amounts will become effective Jan. 16, 2024.

OSHA's maximum penalties for serious and other-than-serious violations will increase from $15,625 per violation to $16,131 per violation. The maximum penalty for willful or repeated violations will increase from $156,259 per violation to $161,323 per violation.

Visit the OSHA Penalties page and read the final rule for more information.