Source: lexology.com

The new two-year bipartisan budget, signed by President Obama on November 2, 2015, allows (in fact requires) OSHA to raise its citation penalties for the first time in 25 years.  Since 1990, OSHA has been one of only three federal agencies that were specifically exempted from a law that required federal agencies to raise their fines to keep pace with inflation.  A section of the budget bill—entitled the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015—eliminates this exemption for OSHA.

The law now requires an initial penalty “catch-up adjustment,” which must be in place by August 1, 2016. The catch-up adjustment is tied to the percentage difference between the October 2015 Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the October 1990 CPI.  Because the October 2015 CPI will not be available until November 17, 2015, the actual percentage increase is unknown at this time. However, based on recent CPI, the increase will likely be in the range of 75% to 80% over current penalty amounts.

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