In what has become an annual event, OSHA has increased its penalties for 2025. OSHA annually increases its penalty amounts to adjust for inflation as mandated by the law. The penalty amounts are an important factor that gets combined with enforcement policies that are factored into how a total penalty is determined for violations of OSHA’s regulations.
Now that the 2024 national election is over and a new administration will be taking over the reins of government, there is an expectation that some of OSHA’s aggressive enforcement policies will be rolled back. Under the Biden administration, OSHA revised its enforcement policies with the stated intent to increase overall penalties for violations of its regulations. In essence, the instance-by-instance changes are designed to have each alleged violation itemized in a citation so that the maximum penalty for each one can be applied. This change differed from OSHA’s historical approach, which was to group the same or similar violations together with a single proposed penalty. While it is hard to predict what will occur, it would not be surprising to see a return to the more historical approach of how penalties are assessed.
The fiscal year 2024 enforcement statistics have been released, and they show an increase in enforcement from 2023 to 2024. The number of inspections in 2024 increased to 34,696, from 34,229 in 2023 marking the most since 2016. OSHA issued citations with initial penalties of more than $1 million to at least eight companies and issued initial penalties of $100,000 to 449 employers, an increase from the 391 issued in 2023. The number of citations with initial significant penalties over $100,000 and total number issued are an increase from 2023.
The increase in penalties exceeding $1,000,000 in 2024 reflects OSHA’s more stringent enforcement efforts and its focus on high-risk industries. The agency has placed increased emphasis on addressing severe and repeated violations, which has led to larger penalties for a smaller number of businesses.
OSHA also launched or continued several emphasis programs and enforcement efforts and several of them can involve printing operations. They are targeting warehouses and distribution centers, heat illness, and amputations. Hazards in warehouses and distribution centers targeted by the NEP include struck-by hazards; caught-in and caught-between hazards; slip, trip, and fall hazards; blocked aisles; means of egress; powered industrial trucks and other material-handling equipment; heat hazards; and ergonomic hazards. Amputation prevention is focused on machine guarding and lockout/tagout compliance programs.
The penalties that OSHA can impose become important and they have been increasing every year for quite a few years. The 2015 Inflation Adjustment Act requires OSHA to annually adjust its civil money penalty levels for inflation no later than January 15 of each year. Therefore, on January 16, 2024, Federal OSHA will increase the maximum penalty an employer can be issued for violations. OSHA annually increases its penalty amounts to adjust for inflation and the increase for 2025 is keeping pace with inflation at 2.6 percent.
The new penalty levels will apply to all violations occurring after January 15, 2025. The following chart compares penalties in effect January 16, 2024, to the new penalties effective January 15, 2025.
| Violation | Penalties as of January 16, 2024 | Penalties as of January 15, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Any serious violation of OSHA rules or standards (29 CFR 1903.15(d)(3)) | Minimum of $1,190 up to $16,131 | Minimum of $1,221 up to $16,550 |
| OSHA violation deemed other-than-serious (29 CFR 1903.15(d)(4)) | Up to $16,131 | Up to $16,550 |
| Failure to abate a violation (29 CFR 1903.15(d)(5)) | Up to $16,131 | Up to $16,550 |
| Violation of posting requirements (29 CFR 1903.15(d)(6)) | Up to $16,131 | Up to $16,550 |
| Any willful violation of OSHA rules or standards (29 CFR 1903.15(d)(1)) | Minimum of $11,524 up to $161,323 | Minimum of $11,823 up to $161,514 |
| Any repeated violation of OSHA rules or standards (29 CFR 1903.15(d)(2)) | Up to $161,323 | Up to $161,514 |
One key question you need to ask yourself for 2025 is – Are you prepared for an OSHA inspection? PRINTING United Alliance has developed many resources designed to make OSHA compliance much easier. Plus, there are now several safety courses available on iLEARNING+ addressing machine guarding and lockout/tagout that will help serve as a strong foundation for your safety program.
In this article, Gary Jones, VP EHS Affairs, PRINTING United Alliance addresses OSHA compliance. More information about OSHA can be found at Business Excellence-EHS Affairs or reach out to Gary should you have additional questions specific to how these issues may affect your business: gjones@printing.org.
To become a member of the Alliance and learn more about how our subject matter experts can assist your company with services and resources such as those mentioned in this article, please contact the Alliance membership team: 888-385-3588 / membership@printing.org.