OSHA director pushes for larger penalties

Penalties for violation of OSHA standards are not high enough to discourage some employers from violating the law and they ought to be increased, according to the agency’s new director.

“Most employers want to do the right thing. But many others will only comply with OSHA rules if there are strong incentives to do so,” Dr. David Michaels testified to a congressional subcommittee yesterday. “OSHA’s current penalties are often not large enough to provide adequate incentives, and we are very low in comparison with those of other public health agencies,” Michaels said.

Michaels testimony was to the House Education and Labor Committee’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. The subcommittee is holding hearings on the proposed Protecting America’s Workers Act, which would make a number of revisions to workplace health and safety law.

Michaels said that environmental laws carry much heavier penalties than penalties under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. For example, in 2001 a tank of sulphuric acid exploded at a Delaware oil refinery, killing an employee. The OSHA penalty was $175,000, Michaels said. Yet in the same incident, thousands of dead fish and crabs were discovered, allowing an Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act citation of $10 million.