Here at Haws we believe in safety inside and outside of the workplace. We strive to make sure our employees follow Occupational Safety&Health standards to make for healthy and safe workplace. Recently Safety and Health released an article titled “Washington Update: No Fines for ‘Minor’ OSHA Violations?” Below you can read the introduction of the article.
“Should employers face fines for “minor, trivial” OSHA violations? At least one congresswoman is saying no.
Under legislation introduced April 22 by Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), employers would not be subject to monetary fines for other-than-serious violations discovered by OSHA if those violations are abated within a certain period of time.
Hartzler, in a press release, characterized some other-than-serious violations as “bizarre” – for example, cords outside a conduit, a yellow line not painted in the right spot or an emergency eyewash station’s water being too cold.
The bill “adds a level of common sense that provides regulatory relief for business[es] concerned with being nickeled and dimed with small infractions while maintaining the current strong worker safety provisions in the Occupational Safety and Health Act,” a spokesperson for the representative said in an email to Safety+Health.
The legislation would afford employers an opportunity to correct minor infractions and protect themselves from penalties that could add up to as much as $7,000. The spokesperson stressed that the bill applies only to “non-serious infractions,” and employers would still face penalties for willful, repeat or serious violations.”
To read more click here (via-Safey+Health)
