“Prison terms of up to 10 years could be imposed on officers and directors of companies that knowingly violate OSHA rules under a proposed revision to the Occupational Safety and Health Act now advancing through Congress,” reported Jim Stanley, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor, on his Workplace Safety blog.
He said that the 10-year term would apply in situations where a violation contributed to the death of an employee. The current maximum sentence under the OSHA act is six months and the law does not specify that officers and directors can be held criminally responsible.
The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and Labor has scheduled a hearing on the proposed measure for July 13.
“Employers need to pay close attention to this bill since the provision on criminal penalties is only one of several proposed enforcement changes in the bill that would radically alter the occupational safety and health landscape for employers. In my view the bill would significantly change OSHA as we now know it,” Stanley advised.
Jim Stanley will be leading an audio conference titled “OSHA Contractor Crackdown: How Employers Can Avoid Violations and Mega-Fines” on Tuesday, August 10.