OSHA Penalty Increases on Horizon for 2016
The federal Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 stipulated the necessity for OSHA to increase its penalties to adjust for inflation. This will be the first increase since 1990.
According to the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act, OSHA must implement regulations by August of 2016. The increase in maximum penalties will be instituted as a one-time adjustment for “catch up”. Additional, subsequent increases will be based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Between October 1990 and September, the CPI increased by 78.24%. You can view the drafted inflation adjustments in this table.
Read more here.