Federal OSHA’s maximum fines for willful and repeat violations are increasing from $145,027 per violation to $156,259 per violation beginning Jan. 17, 2023.
Maximum fines for serious and other-than serious violations will increase from $14,502 per violation to $15,625 per violation, according to OSHA.
These penalty increases apply to any fines assessed after Jan. 17, 2023, for OSHA violations that occurred after Nov. 2, 2015.
Annual adjustment for inflation
This is the annual change under the Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015, which requires the Department of Labor (DOL) to adjust monetary penalties no later than Jan. 15 each year. In 2023, Jan. 15 falls on a Sunday and Jan. 16 is a federal holiday so these new penalty amounts will become effective Jan. 17.
The DOL is required to calculate this adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers. Annual adjustments are based on the percent change between the October index preceding the date of adjustment and the prior year’s October index.
For more information on the penalty increase, see the Federal Register entry on the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Annual Adjustments for 2023.